Jamie Oliver back in the black

Jamie Oliver Holdings has made a pre-tax profit of just over £1m, according to its latest accounts, reversing an £11.1m loss from the year before.

The company, which focuses on the celebrity chef's core media and licensing activities, reported a fall in turnover for the year ended 31 December 2015 to £31.9m, down from £39.7m in the year before.

Pre-tax profit, including £1.6m of exceptional items, made up largely of closure costs in relation to Recipease, a chain which combined a cookery shop, cookery school and café and had been brought into the group prior to its closure. The last of the Recipease sites shut its doors in December 2015. The cooking school charged £140 for a 90-minute course on how to cook beef wellington and £75 for a 60-minute course on making "the perfect pud".

In a strategic report published alongside the company's financial results, the business acknowledged that turnover had decreased in the year, "primarily due to a combination of lower reported book income in Jamie Oliver, and lower production income in Fresh One Productions".

Breaking down the company's £31.9m turnover during the year, some £16.5m came from royalties, endorsements and licensing income. A further £12.6m came from production income, and just under £1.7m came from magazine publishing. Other income accounted for just over £1m.

The business employed an average of 204 people over the year, down from 223 in the prior year. The highest paid director received £595,507 during the period. Neither Jamie Oliver, nor his wife Jools, were paid a dividend during 2015.

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