Why Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant Empire Is Suffering Big Losses
Gordon Ramsay is just as much a television personality and a social media star as he is a chef. From several successful reality shows to hilarious roasts on Twitter, Ramsay is not averse to being in the spotlight. Lately, however, the quick-witted chef has been making a splash on the internet more so than usual. Harmless TikTok challenges and cheeky digs at Jamie Oliver aside, the celebrity chef has been embroiled in controversy ever since he uploaded a video of him entering a lamb pen and mockingly asking the animals, "I'm going to eat you...which one of you is going in the oven first?" While the "Kitchen Nightmares" star may be able to walk away from this problem, his troubles don't seem to end here.
Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Group, an empire that spans several continents, is reportedly suffering huge losses. According to The Guardian, Ramsay runs or, at least, holds a stake in, 35 restaurants based in the UK, with another 13 eateries spread across the globe which are operated under a licensing agreement with his restaurant group. According to accounts published by the group for the financial year ending August 2021, Ramsay's restaurants have suffered a loss of £6.84 million (roughly $8 million) pre-tax.
COVID-19 and inflation are hurting the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Group
According to Business Insider, the pandemic did the most damage to the hospitality industry — including the more famous establishments. Ramsay's financial troubles seemingly began when COVID-19 led to lockdowns and brought the restaurant industry to a standstill two years ago. Between March 2020, when the first lockdown was imposed in the UK, and February 2021, the group suffered a loss of £57 million (about $80 million). In fact, Ramsay's restaurants supposedly had a whopping $14 million worth of bookings in December 2020, all of which were instantly "wiped out overnight" when the lockdown was re-imposed.
As the industry slowly regains its footing, restaurants like Hell's Kitchen and Lucky Cat aren't out of the woods just yet. The group has reported a loss of £6.84 million in the year ending August 2021 due to lockdown restrictions at the beginning of the year and the rising inflation impact (via The Guardian). About 300 staff members have been let go so far and Fine Dining Lovers reports that the group's highest-paid director faced a pay cut of more than £160,000 (about $190,000) from the previous year.
While the restaurant group said that things were beginning to look up since February when all restrictions were lifted, the soaring prices of food and energy, along with a decrease in consumer spending are likely to present more challenges in the coming year.