TV chef Jamie Oliver has had a difficult year following the collapse of his restaurant chain. Mr Oliver had multiple restaurants across the country, which were thought to have struggled with the changing UK restaurant market.
In May of this year, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant group announced it was entering administration.
The group includes the Jamie’s Italian chain, as well as Barbecoa and the London branch of Fifteen.
The company appointed KPMG as administrators, and out of the 25 UK restaurants in the group, 22 were closed earlier in the year.
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The TV chef tweeted at the time: “I’m devastated that our much-loved UK restaurants have gone into administration.”
And in a statement, Mr Oliver said: “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.”
Mr Oliver had poured millions of his own money into the restaurant chain.
“We are profoundly sorry for the hurt, loss and distress the announcement will undoubtedly cause.”
Mr Oliver added: “Both organisations have always been run separately from us, but the team has done an amazing job with the trainee programme, training over 200 chefs and reaching so many more along the way – so this is a huge blow.
“My thoughts are with everyone affected.”
Since the administration was announced in early 2019, more than 1,000 people have been made redundant across the businesses.
However, while the chef’s restaurants have struggled in the UK, his international businesses have prospered.
In November this year, it was announced Mr Oliver planned to open more restaurants abroad.
The Jamie Oliver Group said international franchisees planned to open 21 more Jamie Oliver brand restaurants by the end of 2020, with two opened in November in Bali and Bangkok.
Paul Hunt, Chief Executive of The Jamie Oliver Group, said: “While diners around the world continue to enjoy our established brands including Jamie’s Italian, we wanted to add to our portfolio and create a concept that allows us to really showcase the best of Jamie Oliver, while giving our franchise partners in each market the flexibility to adapt menus to local tastes and trends.”