Jamie Oliver's restaurant group calls in administrators
The company confirmed Sky News reports it has appointed administrator KPMG to handle the process.
Up to 1,300 jobs could be at risk with the process expected to include the chef’s nationwide Jamie’s Italian chain, as well as his Barbecoa and Fifteen restaurants in London.
A spokesperson for Jamie Oliver Holdings says the international arm of Jamie’s Italian and Fifteen Cornwall, which operates under a franchise, will be unaffected.
Oliver says: “I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the staff and our suppliers who have put their hearts and souls into this business for over a decade. I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected.
“I would also like to thank all the customers who have enjoyed and supported us over the last decade, it’s been a real pleasure serving you. We launched Jamie’s Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street, with great value and much higher quality ingredients, best in class animal welfare standards and an amazing team who shared my passion for great food and service. And we did exactly that.”
Oliver had to inject £13m of his own savings in to business in autumn 2017 to stop it going under, with the chef telling the Financial Times the chain had ‘simply run out of cash’. These funds were topped up by £37m loans from HSBC and subsidies from other companies within the wider Jamie Oliver group.
In 2018 the chef's UK restaurant arm closed 12 of its 37 Jamie’s Italian sites under a Company Voluntary Arrangement, alongside one of his Barbecoa steakhouses. It has since entered in to a 10-year partnership with contract caterer Aramark, with a view to opening Jamie's-branded sites in hospitals, universities and workplaces in the UK and northern Europe.
KPMG declined to comment but is expected to release a statement later today.
