Patisserie | Common News Update

Jun232019 by adminNo Comments

Patisserie Valerie scandal: Five people arrested

Business

Five people have been arrested and questioned over alleged accounting fraud at the Patisserie Valerie chain, the Serious Fraud Office has said.The arrests took place last Tuesday, 18 June, in a joint operation with police, the SFO said.The move comes eight months after the firm's former finance director, Chris Marsh, was arrested and freed on bail.Patisserie Valerie went into administration in January and was bought for £5m by Causeway Capital.The collapse followed the discovery of a huge black hole in the firm's accounts, eventually valued at £94m.After it went into administration, the cafe chain was found to have overstated its cash position by £30m and failed to disclose overdrafts of nearly £10m.Patisserie Valerie's former chairman, Luke Johnson, who ...

Jan222019 by adminNo Comments

Patisserie Valerie collapses into administration as rescue talks fail

Business

Cafe chain Patisserie Valerie has collapsed into administration after the failure of rescue talks with banks.Administrators KPMG will close 70 outlets immediately, while the remaining 121 will continue trading in the hope of finding a buyer.KPMG said there would be "significant" redundancies. The BBC understands up to 900 of the 3,000 staff may go.In October, Patisserie Valerie uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities".The company said in a statement that it did not have enough money to meet its debts. The biggest shareholder and chairman, entrepreneur Luke Johnson, had been in talks to extend a cash lifeline from HSBC and Barclays. Mr Johnson has personally e...

Jan162019 by adminNo Comments

Patisserie Valerie: Scale of alleged fraud may be worse than first feared

Business

The crisis-hit owner of Patisserie Valerie is examining "options" for the business, warning the scale of alleged fraud in its accounts may be much worse than initially feared. Trading in shares of Patisserie Holdings were suspended in October when it flagged a black hole in its accounts from "potentially fraudulent" accounting irregularities.The fallout saw its former finance director arrested and released amid a Serious Fraud Office investigation.The company said on Tuesday evening: "The work carried out by the company's forensic accountants since (October) has revealed that the misstatement of its accounts was extensive, involving very significant manipulation of the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts."Among other manipulations, this involved thousands of false en...

Nov42018 by adminNo Comments

Patisserie Valerie chairman waives salary

Business

The chairman of Patisserie Valerie has said he will waive his salary as he focuses on reviving the cake and cafe chain after an accounting scandal. Luke Johnson, who holds a large stake in the business, told the board he would not collect his £60,000 salary for the rest of his time at the group.He will also give up directorships at other firms amid criticism he holds too many. It follows shareholder anger about a rescue deal to keep the firm afloat. The chain, which owns 200 cafes, has been forced to raise £25m in emergency funding after it uncovered black hole in its accounts in October. Patisserie Valerie finance chief arrested Investors blast Patisserie Valerie boss As part of this, it issued £15m of new sha...

Oct122018 by adminNo Comments

Patisserie Valerie saved by cash injection

Business

Patisserie Valerie has been saved from collapse after entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who owns 37% of the company, provided £20m in loans to the struggling chain.Mr Johnson agreed to lend £10m for three years to owners Patisserie Holdings plc, which the company said would provide "immediate liquidity".He has also provided a further bridging loan facility of up to £10m.The firm said it had also raised another £15m by issuing new shares. The directors said the company had required an immediate cash injection of no less than £20m, without which it could not continue trading in its present form.The cafe chain has been fighting for survival after revealing on Wednesday it had uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounti...