Celebrity chef says businesses are ‘battling to stay afloat’ due to rising rent and food costs but industry still ‘vibrant’
Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant empire tripled losses to £3.4m last year as it spent millions of pounds on opening five new restaurants and the chef said businesses in the industry were “battling to stay afloat”.
Sales at the celebrity chef’s dining establishments, which range from his Michelin-starred flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to Street Burger, rose by 21% to £95.6m in the year to 27 August. The group took on 290 more staff after a tough time during the pandemic lockdowns
However pre-tax losses rose to £3.4m from £1.05m a year before after £4.9m of one-off costs, the vast majority of which related to pre-opening costs for new restaurants including a Lucky Cat outlet in Manchester, a Bread Street Kitchen outlet in Battersea power station and a Street Pizza outlet in Edinburgh.
Ramsay also bought the Shoreditch eatery Pizza East. Underlying earnings excluding one-off costs, tax and write-downs rose to £8.3m from £6.2m.
While losses worsened during the year, they still mark a turnaround from the pandemic which brought Ramsay’s business operations to a halt and forcing him to cut almost 300 jobs amid £12m in losses.
Ramsay said: “It’s been a really hard-fought year, but at the same time an exciting year, and in tough times it amazes me how strong and vibrant our industry is. It’s challenging out there and businesses are battling to stay afloat, rising costs, rent and food costs, multiple strikes. It’s a battle.
“However, I genuinely don’t think there’s been a year since I opened my first restaurant in 1998 where there has been so much passion and vibrancy in our industry.
“People still want to go out, break bread and have a good time together. We’ve still got something wonderful to celebrate and I truly believe the industry has never been so exciting.”
Ramsay, who opened his first solo venture Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea in 1998, said he was on track to surpass £100m of sales this year.
He intends to opens five new restaurants within London’s new skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate – including Lucky Cat and its roof terrace on level 60, making it the capital’s highest restaurant.
The development will also include an outpost of Bread Street Kitchen and Bar and a 14-seat chef’s table from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, the chef’s Michelin-starred Chelsea venue and the Gordon Ramsay Academy, where culinary enthusiasts can hone their skills.
Ramsay said: “This is more than just a new opening – it’s a significant milestone for our business. We’re not only launching the highest culinary experiences in London, but also creating a vibrant culinary hub at the incredible 22 Bishopsgate.”
Ramsay also has an academy in Woking, Surrey, where the accounts note the local council loaned his group more than £1.6m in 2021, repayable over 25 years at 3.5%, to help with the fit-out of the venture and its neighbouring Street Burger restaurant.
