Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is once again making millions but his old Oxford restaurant remains boarded up.
The Jamie's Italian chain collapsed in 2019 and the restaurant in George Street - the first to open - shut for good.
Ever since, the building has remained boarded up and the city council, which owns it,has been spending £770,000 to renovate it.
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Contractors at the site say they have not been told which company will occupy it but it could be a restaurant chain.
Mr Oliverand his wife, Jools, have paid themselves £6.8m in dividends, up from £5.6m a year before, after a boostin television and restaurant income.
Thechef, whose UK restaurantempire collapsed in 2019with the loss of 1,000 jobs, has 70 restaurants around the world run by franchise partners and has sold two millionbooks spun out from last year’s TV series Jamie’s One-Pan Wonders.
Sales for the group increased by 8.1 per centto £29.7m and pre-tax profits rose 17.5 per centto £7.7m in the year toDecember 31 2022, as it opened 13 new franchise restaurants overseas under several brands, including Jamie’s Italian, Jamie’s Deli and Jamie Oliver Kitchen.
Sales at the chef’s cookery school in London increased by 35 per cent.
Mr Oliver, who also benefited from a deal to help promote the supermarket chain Tesco, has announced plans to open his first directly run restaurant in the UK since he closed 22 Jamie’s Italian outlets, the Fifteen and Barbecoa restaurants in London and a Jamie’s Diner at Gatwick airport in 2019.
At the moment his only UK outlet is a deli in Aberdeen run by a franchise partner.
Jamie Oliver Catherine Street, in Covent Garden, central London, is scheduled to open in November.
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Kevin Styles, a former boss of the Vue cinema chain and the specialist retailer American Golf, became the chief executive of Oliver’s business empire a year ago.
Mr Styles said: “The Jamie Oliver brand continues to resonate with audiences around the world.
"The results for 2022 show we have the foundations in place from which to continue to evolve our business, putting our customers first, serving their mealtime needs across a range of relevant media and product solutions as well as restaurant and cooking experiences.”
He added thatthe group wanted to create a more integrated food business using digital technology to link Oliver’s media interests, restaurants, licensed products and campaigns for better food.
Soon after the Oxford Jamie's Italianclosed on the corner of Gloucester Sreetin 2019, The Real Greek, which has restaurants across London, announced plans to move in but since then the unit has remained empty.
City council spokesman Tony Ecclestone said earlier: "The works are programmed to be completed towards autumn.
"We have a prospective tenant -the identity is confidential. The proposed use is for a restaurant."
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Andyis the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
Hejoinedthe team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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