Jamie loses £8m as he shuts failing Italian diners

JAMIE Oliver lost more than £8.4m last year after weak demand across his Italian restaurants forced him to close a number of branches.

The chef, who has 42 restaurants in the UK, saw his profits plummet 78.5pc to £2.3m in 2016 from £10.7m the year before after shutting six of his underperforming Jamie’s Italian branches.

The 42-year-old ( pictured) closed his restaurants in Aberdeen, Exeter, Cheltenham, Richmond, Tunbridge Wells and Ludgate Hill, near St Paul’s Cathedral, taking a £10.9m hit.

Jamie’s Italian slumped from a £2.4m profit in 2015 to a £9.9m loss in 2016 as a result. Barbecoa, his barbecue steakhouse concept, also posted a loss of £535,166 from a profit of £329,026 the year before.

However his licensing business Jamie Oliver Licensing, which accounts for all products and merchandise sold under his name, and Jamie Oliver Holdings, his television and book publishing business, fared considerably better. JOL made profits of £7.3m in 2016 – up from £7m the year before – while JOH made £5.3m, up from £1.1m in 2015.

JOH, of which the father of five owns 100pc, paid a dividend of £4m, while JOL, where he is a majority shareholder, held the dividend at £6m.

In a bid to keep down costs, the celebrity chef is taking a more handson role and is bringing his Jamie’s Italian business under the same management as JOH.

Oliver, who was awarded an MBE for his services to hospitality in 2003, has built a £150m business empire from his cookbooks and restaurants. But his High Street restaurants have struggled, both at home and internationally. Last November he was forced to buy back his business in Australia after it fell into the hands of creditors. His first restaurant in France was also slated by customers last month after patrons accused it of serving ‘dry’ food and ‘rubber’ chicken.