Jamie Oliver blames rising rents and rates for restaurant group collapse

Jamie Oliver has spoken about how rising rents and rates contributed to the downfall of his UK restaurant business.

Speaking on the News Agents podcast, Oliver said he hadn’t “lost faith” in the restaurant industry and that he was still a “restaurateur at heart”.

Jamie's Italian reached 36 sites at its peak and over 1,000 jobs were lost when the chef's wider restaurant business collapsed in May 2019, which included the closure of the Barbecoa and Fifteen London brands.

Oliver told the podcast: “Having thought about it long and hard, I had the best of the best. I probably had the best mid-market, socially-orientated business on the planet for seven, eight years and lost it over four years, which is utterly painful and it was something I’d never, ever, ever like to do again.

“We probably signed rents of 20% over the odds, our rates went up 40% over two years, high street decline was 16%.

“Then our margins, which were smaller because we were selling more ethical food at the same price as someone next door that you probably frequent that wasn’t, so our model didn’t work and we died.”

Oliver personally lost around £25m in the collapse of his restaurant business, which left creditors owed a total of £83m.

The chef added that there had also been issues around “how things were managed” but said all staff and suppliers, “with a few exceptions”, were paid.

Oliver will return to the London restaurant scene this year with the opening of a site at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Covent Garden. The restaurant's menu will champion British produce and Oliver said it would go back to his culinary roots.

The chef said: “I’m still young-ish, got 10 years of good work in me yet, I think. So, I’m opening back up in October and what’s beautiful is the greatest hits of all my team are coming back without having to advertise, so we’re going to get the band back together.

“I do believe in the industry. It’s a beautiful industry. I do believe in our farmers; we’ve got some of the best farmers in the world. The good guys are very fragile, we must love them… and that’s what makes our food industry so extraordinary.”

The chef's international business continues to expand, with 70 sites across 23 countries.