Jamie’s £1.75m hard to swallow for those he owes millions

HE’S the super-rich TV chef who faced a spectacular downfall when his restaurant empire collapsed in 2018, owing millions of pounds to his suppliers.

But Jamie Oliver can breathe a sigh of relief, as I can reveal he’s recouped £1.75 million.

This may, however, cause his suppliers to boil over. They include such prestigious names as the Queen’s wine merchant Berry Bros, and Natoora, the fashionable organic veg supplier which sells to Michelin-starred chefs.

The business, Jamie’s Italian, owed around £83 million when it went bust. Oliver ploughed in about £15 million of his own money, and now £1.75million will be paid to his holding company, Jamie Oliver Holdings Ltd.

Unsecured creditors, such as the suppliers owed millions, will have to share £600,000 that has been set aside for their claims.

One of the largest debts to a supplier is the £221,494 run up by the chain with Direct Meats, based in Essex. The company’s director, Martin Blackwell, said in a report on the firm’s trading for 2019: ‘In the previous year we had established what we believed to be a strong relationship with Jamie

Oliver’s Italian. And here we had seen more than a doubling in the business between the years 2018 and 2019. ‘We were hugely let down by the businesses falling into administration, and without this our yearend figures, which are indeed satisfactory, would have been significantly improved and would have reflected the hard work and dedication of the officers and staff in taking Direct Meats forward.’ Oliver’s spokesman could not be reached for comment, but his spokesman previously said the chef had reached ‘mutually consensual terms’ with his creditors.

Oliver is rumoured to have a fortune of more than £200 million and recently applied for permission to extend his £3million Essex mansion. He and his family hope to add three more bedrooms to their six-bedroom pile.