Carlson, a privately held global hospitality and travel company has acquired the remaining 60% stake in T.G.I. Friday's UK for $50 million.

The acquisition is part of Carlson's strategy to invest more than $100 million to both acquire and fuel further growth of the Friday's brand in the UK market over the next five years.

Hubert Joly, president of Carlson explained: "As a global hospitality company, our objective is to continue to grow our core hotel and restaurant brands, and the T.G.I. Friday's UK acquisition is a tremendous opportunity to expand in an established market that is familiar with our brand.

"We are confident that T.G.I. Friday's in the UK will continue to perform well for our company and our guests, and we believe the brand's strong momentum provides the potential for continued global expansion."