Jamie Oliver To Sell Another Kind Of Stake

He has grown accustomed to telling amateur cooks how to prepare steaks, but the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver now has a very different kind of stake in mind.

Sky News can reveal that Mr Oliver, the self-styled Naked Chef, has drafted in investment bankers to offload a chunk of his media and publishing business.

The appointment of Raine, a New York-based merchant bank, is expected to lead to Jamie Oliver Group raising up to £50m from the sale of a minority interest in the unit.

Bidders are expected to include private equity firms, media groups and wealthy individuals from around the world, with a formal auction likely to underline the chef's continuing international appeal.

In a statement issued to Sky News, a spokesman for Jamie Oliver Group said: "Like any well run private company, we regularly review our funding policy and requirements.

"All options, including bringing on board an external investor, are considered in order to position the group to take best advantage of the clear market opportunities that lie ahead."

Insiders said that Raine's work would not include Mr Oliver's fast-growing restaurant business, which includes the Jamie's Italian chain of outlets across the UK.

His media interests have also seen rapid expansion, although they endured a blip in 2013, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Pre-tax profit at the parent company Jamie Oliver Holdings, which houses his publishing interests and his TV production company Fresh One Productions, fell to £6.2m from £9.8m in 2012 after exceptional items.

Turnover was 7.1% lower than the year before at £32.8m, according to the accounts.

Figures for 2014 are not yet publicly available.

Mr Oliver is worth £240m, according to last year's Sunday Times Rich List, and the sale of a stake in his media business is expected to fuel further international expansion.

The chef has created an online video venture called FoodTube, which now has more than 1m subscribers.

A former face of J Sainsbury's advertising campaigns, he has also worked to improve standards of school food and now employs more than 8000 people across his various businesses.