Jamie Oliver has come under fire after taking a £5.2 million payout from his food and media empire last year before the collapse of his UK restaurant business, which resulted in around 1,000 job losses.
The dividend came despite a near halving of profits at Jamie Oliver Holdings last year after it was hit by £9.8 million in costs related to the celebrity chef's attempts to prop up his ailing UK restaurant arm.
The figures were revealed in new accounts for his business empire, which excludes the accounts for the collapsed UK restaurant business, which went into administration in May. The collapse lead to the closure of most of Jamie's Italian branches in the UK along with Barbecoa and the Fifteen restaurant in London.
Jamie Oliver's empire saw pre-tax profits slip 57.4% to £4.8 million in the year to December 2018 while earnings before tax and interest rose 4.9% against the previous year.
READ MORE: Restaurant owners warned as Jamie Oliver’s empire put into administration
The 44-year-old TV star and his wife Jools picked up £5.2million from the overall group — down from £8.6million in 2017.
The payout came prior to the collapse of his UK restaurant business in May, which resulted in the closure of 22 restaurants across the UK.
There were two Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Scotland, the flagship eatery in Glasgow and one based in Edinburgh.
Unite Hospitality said after the business collapse that members were made redundant with less than 30 minutes notice, in some cases by telephone. They launched a fight to get wages, holidays, notice pay and redundancy that was owed.
Unite Hospitality said as news of the payout emerged: "While our members at Jamie's Italian are still owed ££££s, their former employer has personally pocketed millions. Utterly reprehensible."
Paul Hunt, chief executive of the parent company, hailed the "resilient set of results", as the company "weathered" significant challenges in 2018.
"We are a commercial business with social purpose running through everything we do," he added.
"We have emerged from the past six months with complete clarity around our vision and values, as well as a renewed focus on what we want to achieve in the coming years."
Revenue in Jamie Oliver's media arm fell 5.9% to £43.5 million and books Jamie Cooks Italy, Friday Night Feast and Quick & Easy did not prove as successful as the previous year’s 5 Ingredients book and TV show.
But the company signed new long-term licensing contracts with Shell and Tesco, while the Jamie’s Italian international franchise business opened 12 new sites in three new countries, taking the total to 62 The collapse of Jamie's Italian left creditors facing losses of up to £83 million, according to the most recent administrators report. The Jamie Italian brand now only operates in the UK via a franchise at Gatwick Airport.
In August, the chef announced he is transforming his remaining business into an ethical "B corporation" that promises to consider the impact of its operations on its workers, suppliers, community and environment.
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