Jamie Oliver and his wife pay themselves £2.5m as pre-tax profits slump

The dividends that Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, paid themselves relate to the family’s wider interests, which include a further licensing business. Photograph: Justin Ng/Alamy

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, have paid themselves £2.5m in dividends for the second year in a row as pre-tax profits at their core media and restaurant empire slumped.

Pre-tax profits at Jamie Oliver Holdings (JOH) fell by £1m to £2.4m last year. This was despite a 6% rise in sales to £28.6m, helped by a surge in restaurant income after the November 2023 opening of his first directly run restaurant since the collapse of his empire of 22 Jamie’s Italian UK outlets in 2019.