Jamie and Jules Oliver make £7m backing from overseas restaurants

Jamie and Jules Oliver have benefited from revenue growth in their business, which includes TV shows, book publishing and restaurants. Photo: Samir Hussein. /WireImage

Jamie and Jules Oliver paid themselves a dividend of nearly £7m last year after expanding the celebrity chef's restaurant franchise overseas.

The payout signals a resurgence in Mr Oliver's fortune as he also plans to launch a new site in the UK for the first time since the bankruptcy of its Italian network Jamie in 2019.

In his business empire of TV shows, books and restaurants, Mr Oliver posted an 8.1 per cent rise in revenue to £29.7m in the year to December 2022.

Last year, Mr. Oliver's restaurant franchise added 13 new sites, bringing the total to 70 in 22 countries.

This includes Jamie's new Italian sites in Dubai and Jamie Oliver's pizzeria in India.

Last year, the company ended its franchise agreement in Russia after invading Ukraine.

Mr. Oliver's new book, ONE, was published in September and has sold two million copies to date.

The turnaround comes four years after the collapse of Jamie's Italian, which forced the closure of 22 restaurants and led to the loss of 1,000 jobs.

The chef has also been forced to close his Barbecoa steakhouses in London, as well as his flagship Fifteen restaurant.

Oliver said the closure of a number of his restaurants, including Barbecoa, was one of the toughest of his life. Earlier this year, Oliver said it was «without a doubt one of the most difficult periods of my life.»

However, in May, Mr Oliver announced that he would be opening his first eatery in the UK since 2019 , which will be called Jamie. Oliver Catherine Street has been in London's West End since this autumn.

He said the new site harkens back to his «culinary roots, inspired by the dishes I cooked at the pub where my mom and dad lived.»

His company appointed Kevin Stiles, the former chief executive of cinema chain Vue, became its new chief executive in July last year.

Mr Stiles said: “The results for 2022 show that we have a basis for further development of our business.

Mr. Oliver rose to fame in the early 2000s with his TV show The Naked Chef and a cookbook of the same name.

He is also known for his campaigns against junk food.

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