Patisserie Valerie on the brink of collapse

The owner of UK Café chain Patisserie Valerie has halted trading in its shares and suspended its CEO and announced that tax authorities have petitioned to wind it up, amid “ significant and potentially fraudulent” accounting irregularities. Luke Johnson, chairman of Patisserie Holdings, who bought and floated PizzaExpress said it was  yesterday notified of accounting irregularities that could mean a “material misstatement” of its accounts, triggering immediate suspension of its shares on London’s Aim junior market pending an investigation.

 

The board has been made aware that a petition to wind up its main trading company, Stonebeach Ltd, which generated 90 per cent of the parent company’s revenue and profits in the year to September 2017, which paid £3.5m in tax that year, has been filed by HM Revenue and Customs in the High Court on September 14, 2018.

Chris Marsh the CFO, has been suspended.

Patisserie Holdings had been on e of the more successful floats on Aim in recent years whose shares stood at 429p when the markets closed on Tuesday, giving a value of over £400m. The group sells coffee and  cakes from 206 stores.