Jamie Oliver has announced that 22 of his 25 restaurants have closed after facing administration. His Jamie’s Italian chain, modern British restaurant Fifteen and his Barbecoa steakhouse will all be closing imminently, resulting in the loss of 1,000 jobs.
He injected £4 million GBP (approx. $5,055,000 USD) into his empire of restaurants earlier this year, yet announced on Twitter yesterday his "devastation" for the closure of his restaurants. He added, "I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the people who have put their hearts and souls into this business over the years."
KPMG has been appointed as the administrators, which said in a statement, "The group had recently undertaken a process to secure additional investment into the business and, since the beginning of this year, Jamie Oliver has made available additional funds of £4m to support the fundraising… However, with no suitable investment forthcoming and in light of the very difficult current trading environment, the directors resolved to appoint administrators."
Notices have since been put up in the windows the 22 restaurants which have already closed. Two of the Jamie’s Italian spaces and one Jamie’s Diner at Gatwick Airport will continue to operate, as will his Fifteen Cornwall restaurant at Watergate Bay and all international Jamie’s Italian, Jamie’s Pizzeria and Jamie’s Deli outposts.
In other news, Netflix and Coca Cola will bring back 1985’s new Coke for the release of Stranger Things 3.
I’m devastated that our much-loved UK restaurants have gone into administration. I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the people who have put their hearts and souls into this business over the years. Jamie Oliver
— Jamie Oliver (@jamieoliver) May 21, 2019
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