CHEF IN A £1M STEW

CELEBRITY chef Heston Blumenthal’s business empire dived nearly £1million into the red last year. Accounts for SL6 Ltd, the holding company for his various businesses, saw turnover edge up to £12.7million in the 12 months to May 28, 2017, but it swung from a £469,490 profit to a £973,858 loss. In Companies House documents, SL6 listed global economic uncertainty, staff wage rises and supplier cost rises as factors that could dent profits going forward. SL6 control 13 companies, including Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire. Blumenthal no longer technically owns any of the offshoots, having sold his stake to Ronnie Lowenthal, his father’s stepbrother, in 2008.