Jamie Oliver takes payday hit as restaurant collapse eats into profits
Jamie Oliver has suffered a decline in profit from his business ventures as the collapse of his restaurant chain continues to take its toll.
Pre-tax profits at the celebrity chef’s group of companies dropped to £7.1m in 2019, down nine per cent on the previous year.
Turnover dropped just over five per cent to £38.8m, according to newly-filed documents.
It follows the collapse of the Jamie’s Italian restaurant chain, which fell into administration in May 2019 with the loss of 1,000 jobs.
In total 22 restaurants shut down, with only three sites at Gatwick Airport and international outlets remaining open.
Jamie Oliver Group suffered a hit of £5.9m due to administration costs and its impact on the restaurant group’s international arm.
Jamie’s Italian was one of a number of high street restaurant chains, including Carluccio’s, Byron and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, to suffer closures amid tough competition in the casual dining market.
Oliver injected millions of pounds in a bid to save the business, including £6.7m of loans.
Total dividends paid by the businesses totalled £4m, down from £5.2m the previous year.
In its report, the Jamie Oliver group said the main driver of profitability for the business was the success of new cookbook titles and TV shows.
The company has an in-house production unit and holds distribution contracts with Channel 4 in the UK and Fremantle abroad.
Oliver also generated “stable” revenue from endorsement contracts, including Tesco and Tefal.