Patisserie Holdings calls in administrators
High profile investor Luke Johnson - the bakery group’s executive chairman and largest shareholder - had been seeking to extend the standstill of its bank facilities which expired on 18 January.
The company has stated that its collapse is the “direct result of the significant fraud”.
In an update on 16 January Patisserie Holdings described the misstatement of its accounts as ‘extensive’ with ‘very significant manipulation of the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts’, including thousands of false entries in to the company’s ledgers.
The directors have appointed partners at KPMG as administrators to the company and its subsidiaries, which include Patisserie Valerie, Philpotts, Baker & Spice, Flour Power City and Druckers – Vienna Patisserie. The company employs 2,500 people in total.
Johnson ploughed £20m in to the group last year after it uncovered a multi-million-pound black hole in its accounts in October.
According to the announcement, Johnson had personally extended an unsecured, interest-free loan to help ensure that the January wages are paid to all staff working in the ongoing business.
The group's CEO Paul May has since resigned amid the ongoing investigation in to its accounts. He has been replaced by Stephen Francis, who previously helped turnaround meat producer Vion Food Group.
