Oliver group blames Brexit hit for closures
JAMIE Oliver is to close six of his eponymous Italian restaurants, which he claims have been stung by a combination of rising Brexit cost pressures and tough trading.
The closures will impact 120 staff, although the company will attempt to place those affected in other parts of Oliver’s restaurant empire.
Outlets in Aberdeen, Cheltenham, Exeter, Ludgate, Richmond and Tunbridge Wells are all scheduled to close in the first quarter, the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group said yesterday.
Chief executive Simon Blagden said: “As every restaurant owner knows, this is a tough market and, post- Brexit, the pressures and unknowns have made it even harder.
“While our overall business is in good shape, because we refuse to compromise on the quality and provenance of our ingredients and our commitment to training and developing our staff, we need restaurants that can serve an average of 3,000 covers every week to be sustainable.”
As well as staff costs and lower footfall, the group has been stung by the collapse in the pound, which has ramped up the cost of buying ingredients from Italy. According to accounts filed at Companies House, revenue at Jamie’s Italian rose by almost nine per cent to £116.1 million in 2015, but profits fell from £3.8m to £2.3m.
The group said it will now focus on the “core Jamie’s Italian estate” and on the expansion of the Barbecoa brand, which will see two new openings in 2017.
Internationally, the firm plans to launch another 22 Jamie’s Italian outlets and develop its newly acquired Australian restaurants.