About 1,000 staff are expected to lose their jobs after Jamie Oliver's restaurant group called in administrators. All but three of the celebrity chef's 25 UK outlets have closed, with only his three Gatwick airport restaurants remaining open as administrators seek a buyer. A further 300 jobs, mostly at the Gatwick sites, remain at risk.
Oliver, 43, said he was 'deeply saddened' by the blow to his empire, which began with the opening of Fifteen in London in 2002. He thanked staff and suppliers who had 'put their hearts and souls into the business' and credited his chains with transforming high street dining. 'We launched Jamie's Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street,' he said.
The Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, which includes 22 Jamie's Italian outlets, plus Fifteen and Barbecoa in London and a Jamie's Diner at Gatwick, appointed KPMG as administrators on Tuesday. The administration does not affect more than 61 overseas outlets or the Fifteen in Cornwall, which are run by franchisees. A 10-year deal with US caterer Aramark to open franchise sites in universities and hospitals was also unaffected.
Will Wright, a partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said the casual dining sector was 'as tough as I've ever seen'. He added that the directors had worked tirelessly to stabilise the business against rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, but a sales process to bring in new investment proved unsuccessful. All but the Gatwick outlets were closed due to insufficient funds to continue trading.
The collapse comes amid heavy competition in the casual dining market, with chains such as Carluccio's, Byron Burger and Gourmet Burger Kitchen already closing outlets. Sales at Jamie's Italian dived nearly 11% last year to £101m as it closed 12 restaurants and made about 600 staff redundant. The business slumped to a loss of nearly £20m last year.
