Red Lobster
Golden Gate Capital's sale-leaseback stripped Red Lobster of real estate assets, saddling it with unaffordable lease obligations. Filed Chapter 11 in 2024.
- FOUNDED
- 1968
- ACQUIRED
- Golden Gate Capital, 2014, $2.1 billion
- IMPACTS
- 1 documented
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Editorial Record
maintained by DeathbyPE. Every claim links to a public source.Timeline
1968
Red Lobster founded
2014
Acquired by Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion
2024
Red Lobster filed bankruptcy after Golden Gate Capital's sale-leaseback
HighClosure / BankruptcyGolden Gate Capital sold Red Lobster's real estate and forced it to lease back at above-market rates. Customer count dropped 30%. The $20 "Endless Shrimp" promotion lost $11M. Filed Chapter 11 in 2024, closing 130+ locations.
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How Private Equity Trashed Red Lobster
Before / After
MetricBefore PEAfter PEΔ
Locations
reported 2024
before ~700 restaurants
after ~518 restaurants
-26%
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