From Jamie’s Italian to Patisserie Valerie: The restaurants that closed in 2019

Jamie’s Italian was the most high-profile fall from grace in a year when hundreds of restaurants closed across the UK.

As new data, compiled for the PA news agency shows that more than 11,000 restaurant staff lost their jobs in 2019, these are some of the biggest stories in the dining sector.

Jamie’s Italian

Around 1,000 jobs were lost at the Naked Chef’s restaurants in 2019, in a brutal market.

“To survive in this industry is really tough,” Mr Oliver told Channel 4 after his business went into administration.

“I opened lots of big restaurants, and I think people like smaller, medium-sized restaurants, and you have these big cathedrals that you can’t fill.”

He closed 22 restaurants, with creditors facing losses of up to £83 million.

Patisserie Valerie

The high-street cafe closed dozens of sites this year after it discovered a £30 million hole in its accounts.

Luke Johnson’s cake shop said in January that 902 people would lose their jobs as 71 outlets closed across the country. Five people were later arrested for alleged accounting fraud.

Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner

In March the company behind the two chains said it was going to close nearly a third of its restaurants.

Boparan Restaurant Group said that 27 out of 87 sites across the UK would close as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). A CVA allows a struggling firm to pay back its debts over time while continuing to trade.