Jamie's Italian to Relaunch in UK Next Year with New Leicester Square Site
Jamie’s Italian is set to relaunch in the UK next year, six years after it entered administration in 2019. The first new site will be located in central London’s Leicester Square and will be backed by the Brava Hospitality Group, the investors behind Prezzo. The relaunch is based on a franchise agreement between Jamie Oliver and Brava Hospitality Group, with Oliver not investing his own cash.
Jamie Oliver will oversee the menu for the Leicester Square site as part of the revival plans. The intention is to expand the brand further across the UK. At its peak, the UK portfolio of Jamie’s Italian exceeded 40 sites, but the 2019 closures resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 UK jobs, although over 30 international restaurants survived.
Debts from the 2019 collapse stood at about £80 million. This relaunch comes at a challenging time for UK hospitality, which is facing cost pressures including higher staffing costs and changes to business rates.
