Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant empire sees losses deepen
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant business posted deepening losses in its latest financial results as it works through an “efficiency program”.
The group, which owns the three Michelin star The Fat Duck, suffered a post-tax loss of £1.7m in the year to 31 May 2018, compared to a loss of £700,000 in 2017.
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“The board is of the opinion that the loss for the year is a consequence of the current period of transition of the group’s business,” Blumenthal’s holding company SL6 said.
Turnover in the period slumped from £12.8m to £12.4m, and gross profit fell slightly from £8.8m to £8.7m.
The accounts could spark concerns that Blumenthal’s restaurant empire, which also includes Dinner in London and Melbourne and gastropub the Hind’s Head, could face a similar fate to Jamie Oliver’s business.
The TV chef’s restaurant chain collapsed into administration in May, prompting around 1,000 redundancies.
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However, SL6 said it expects “much better results” for the financial year ending in 2019 despite a “challenging” economic and trading environment.
“The directors are aware of the threat to the group’s future performance that is posed by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, National Living Wage increases and food cost inflation,” it said.