Multi-millionaire Rick Stein took £4.6m from furlough scheme to prop up business

TV chef Rick Stein took £4.6million from the furlough scheme to prop up his businesses during the pandemic, accounts show.

Stein — who is said to be worth more than £30million — used the Government scheme to support his 616 staff.

They work for Stein’s Trading Ltd, which handles his restaurants, and Seafood Trading Ltd, which handles his hotels, shops and other interests.

He closed two of his restaurants in Cornwall due to the financial impact of lockdowns.

In one interview, Stein, 75, who runs the business with his ex-wife Jill and their children, said of the pandemic: “It was very scary and we nearly lost the whole business.”

“And it’s certainly not just my work we’re talking about — Jill and the children have put so much into it too.”

Stein joins other multi-millionaire celebrity chef’s like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver who used the furlough scheme to prop up their ailing business during the lockdown.