Patisserie Valerie receiving multiple bids despite being shrouded in fraud
Over 920 people who were made redundant due to store closures will not be paid this month
Over 920 people who were made redundant due to store closures will not be paid this month
Failed cake chain Patisserie Valerie have received a number of bids to buy it following its collapse last month.
Administrators KPMG have received multiple bid for the popular café brand, despite a £40m hole in its accounts being discovered last month.
Over 70 Patisserie Valerie shops around the country have already closed due to the collapse, meaning 920 people have lost their jobs.
Further evidence of fraud has also been discovered by The Times, which reported that staff at Patisserie Valerie were allegedly using fake Groupon vouchers to inflate sales.
They recorded sales in the café’s ledgers when a sale may not have been made at all, according to sources familiar with a report by accounting firm PwC.
Seeing as 120 Patisserie Valerie shops are remaining open for now, there are potential buyers sniffing around left, right, and centre.
David Costley-Wood, partner at KPMG and joint administrator in the case, said to City A.M . “We are encouraged by the scope of offers received from trade and finance buyers for all and for parts of the business. We will now be taking a number of these offers forward, and hope to be able to make progress in short order.
“We’d like to thank employees, suppliers, creditors and also Patisserie Valerie’s loyal customers for their invaluable support in helping us to continue to trade the business over the last two weeks.”
Apparently KPMG together with the law firm Gately have blocked a rescue bid from the former owner of Druckers, David Scott. In 2007, Scott sold Druckers to Luke Johnson, owner of Patisserie Valerie at the time.
Scott admitted wanting to the save the café but, according to Sunday Times reporting, has been told by KPMG administrators he won’t receive the same information as some other possible buyers.
While the debacle around if and who will buy continues, staff are suffering due to lack of pay.
Despite knowing about the closure of their shop, many members of staff had no idea they wouldn’t receive their final pay cheque.
These employees who have been made redundant now have to apply to government for redundancy and statutory notice pay, which could take six weeks from when they apply.