Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver‘s restaurant group in the UK has gone into administration, putting up to 1300 jobs at risk, the BBC is reporting.
In a post to Facebook, Oliver said he was disappointed at the turn of events:
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.
According to the BBC, 25 restaurants will be affected by the move, specifically Barbacoa, Fifteen, and 23 Jamie’s Italian restaurants.
In a statement, Oliver said that he believed they had achieved what they set out to do:
We launched Jamie’s Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street, with great value and much higher quality ingredients, best in class animal welfare standards and an amazing team who shared my passion for great food and service. And we did exactly that.
Jamie Oliver’s Australian restaurant group went into administration last year, less than a year after Oliver relaunched the restaurants after buying them back from another company.
