Jamie and Jools Oliver have paid themselves a £1.5m dividend—marking a drop of more than 40% compared to the previous year—after pre-tax profits at their cookery and media enterprise nearly halved, according to accounts filed at Theguardian.
Profits Halve and Dividend Drops as Restaurant and Media Empire Faces Costs
Pre-tax profits at the group slumped to £1.25m, down from £2.4m the year before. The decline was driven by £1.46m in exceptional costs stemming from a business restructure that resulted in about 20 job losses within the Olivers’ media team. Profits were additionally impacted by pre-opening expenses for a new cookery school located inside John Lewis’s Oxford Street outlet in London.
Despite the profit downturn, overall sales at AOL.co.uk remained broadly steady at £28.4m in 2025, which is £160,000 less than the previous year. Strong performances across the group’s own restaurants, franchise operations, cookery schools, and television productions helped offset declines in royalties, licensing, and endorsements.
Royalties and Licensing Slide While Restaurants and Cookery Schools Grow
The largest segment of the Oliver business—royalties, licensing, and endorsements, which includes a Tefal pan range—slid by close to £2m to £15.9m. This marks the second year of declining income from this revenue stream following the end of a major deal with Tesco that began in 2023 and concluded in 2024.
Conversely, distinct divisions within the enterprise saw notable growth:
- Cookery school income: Soared 48% to reach £1.6m.
- Owned and operated restaurants: Sales rose 17% to £4.3m.
- Overseas franchise restaurants: Sales via ventures such as Jamie Oliver’s Deli and Jamie Oliver Kitchen rose 6.5% to £4m.
Accounts filed with authorities noted, We have delivered new Jamie Oliver titles in both book and TV formats during the year and there has been a continued strong performance from back catalogue book titles and our international television content distribution.
Additionally, the Eat Yourself Healthy cookbook emerged as a number one global bestseller, selling nearly 70,000 copies in its first week to rank among Jamie’s fastest-selling books.
Expansion Plans for Restaurants and Global Franchises
The group’s restaurant footprint continues to evolve following past turbulence. The original Jamie’s Italian chain collapsed into administration in 2019, leaving £83m of debt and resulting in 1,000 job losses. However, this March saw the opening of a new Jamie’s Italian in London’s Leicester Square, backed by Prezzo owner Brava Hospitality Group. The group previously opened Jamie Oliver Catherine Street in 2023, marking a return to the UK restaurant scene with a menu centered on British produce.
Backers at Brava Hospitality Group have suggested there is potential for up to 40 additional new restaurants of this format in the UK, with another location planned for this year if a suitable site can be secured.
On the international front, an Oliver spokesperson stated that 10 new franchise restaurants under his name are planned to open worldwide this year. This expansion includes a newly opened venue in Abu Dhabi, following prior openings in Bahrain and India. Beyond food and publishing, Oliver launched a social media micro drama
featuring short comedy episodes this year to promote the Life360 family tracking app.
