Healthy eating blogger Ella Mills forced to close down London delis

She has built an empire on the principles of healthy eating – but blogger Ella Mills has found out the hard way that healthy finances are harder to achieve.

The foodie, known for her Deliciously Ella brand, has been forced to close two of her three London delicatessens after racking up losses of £724,000.

Her shop in Herne Hill, South-East London, had been open for less than a year, while the other, in Marylebone, was the first she and her husband and business partner Matthew opened in January 2016.

Ella told her 1.2 million Instagram followers the axed stores ‘will always have such a special place in the Deliciously Ella journey’, but added: ‘It has become clear that… we’d be better off focusing all of our attention on one deli.’

Matthew is the son of Labour peer Tessa Jowell while Ella’s parents are former Labour Cabinet Minister Shaun Woodward and supermarket heiress Camilla Sainsbury, who backed the Deliciously Ella business.

Debts from the delis that closed last week will be met thanks to shareholder support. The remaining store in Mayfair is just a five-minute walk from the Marylebone branch.

Last week, Ella admitted that ‘having two delis so close together doesn’t really make sense’.

The 26-year-old started her Deliciously Ella blog in 2011 after being struck down with a debilitating illness called postural tachycardia syndrome while studying at university. 

Her first book was published in January 2015 and went on to become the fastest-selling debut cookbook ever. But as Jamie Oliver – who recently closed 12 of his Jamie’s Italian restaurants – knows, book sales do not always translate into High Street success.

Ella’s deli business is separate from a firm that channels her earnings from book sales and other goods and services.

That firm has current assets of £524,690. 

The Mae Deli by Deliciously Ella in Seymour Place, Marylebone, London