Closures were only option, says boss of Jamie’s Italian

The boss of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants admitted yesterday that the business had “lost its way” and had become “a bit complacent”, but he insisted that the closure of some outlets would pave the way for the restoration of its fortunes. Speaking at the Casual Dining show in London, Jon Knight, who was promoted to chief executive of Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group in October, admitted that taking the top job had been “a lot more challenging than I had anticipated”. Knight, who previously ran the successful international division of Jamie’s Italian, said that the British business “appeared to have lost its way. It needed someone or something new to help to reassess, reset and make some really tough decisions to get the business firing again”. According to the Telegraph, Knight said that Jamie’s Italian had failed to adapt to keep up with the competition and that last year signs emerged the UK business “was in trouble”. He added that newer sites had been opened in towns and cities which did not have colleges or universities and were not on the tourist trail – something entirely contrary to the brief the business set itself at launch a decade ago. Click here for the full Times article (£) Click here for the full Telegraph article