Diners' growing taste for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurants

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s restaurant group has served up a rise in annual turnover but had to swallow a reduction in profits as it invested in expansion and set up a loyalty scheme for customers.

Jamie’s Italian, which operates more than 30 outlets in the UK and a growing number around the world under franchise deals, saw sales rise 9pc to £101.8m in the year to January 5, but pre-tax profit fell 28pc to 5.6m.

The fall in profits was the result of continued investment in the company’s estate, both at home and abroad, and was partly attributed to launching a loyalty card, the company said in its accounts.

“Recognising the importance of loyal customers at a time when deep discounting is prevalent in the eating out sector, we launched [the] Gold Club in April 2013,” the company said. “This is the most appropriate means of rewarding our customers and generating repeating visits.”

As well as introducing a Jamie’s Trattoria sub-brand during the year, the company also opened restaurants in Perth, Canberra, St Petersburg, Singapore, Dubai and Istanbul, taking its international outlets to eight.

It added the pipeline for expansion was strong, having agreed deals for openings in countries including Canada, Indonesia and Finland.

Noting that the company – which celebrated its fifth birthday during the period covered by the results – was facing an “incredibly competitive” market and a “fragile” economy, the board proposed a dividend should not be paid.

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