… By Huw Jones. The tie-up with Sainsbury’s marks a major step for Patisserie Valerie, which became embroiled in an accounting scandal in 2018. The Dublin-based owner last week laid bare the desperate state of the company it inherited from the previous owners, including a cost-cutting approach so severe that managers stopped using butter in puff pastry. Chris Marsh, Patisserie Valerie’s finance director, was arrested and bailed following the accounting scandal. The owner of Patisserie Valerie has said an accounting scandal it revealed in October was worse than it thought. In a statement, an SFO spokesperson said: “On Tuesday 18 June, as part of a joint operation with Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and the Metropolitan police services, five individuals were arrested and interviewed in connection with the Serious Fraud Office investigation into individuals associated with Patisserie Holdings PLC.”, Available for everyone, funded by readers. According to a statement from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued over the weekend, the arrests took place last Tuesday in a joint operation with Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Metropolitan police services after the discovery of a multimillion-pound gap in the company’s accounts late last year. Grant Thornton, the UK’s fifth largest accounting firm by revenue, may also potentially face the wrath of the Financial Reporting Council, which regulates the audit profession. The SFO has previously said it opened a criminal investigation earlier this year but has not commented further. Mr Francis is a former boss of Patisserie Holdings, the owner of Patisserie Valerie, which became embroiled in a major fraud scandal just over 18 months ago. All rights reserved. Last modified on Mon 24 Jun 2019 18.50 BST. Johnson, who was the firm’s largest shareholder when it failed, broke his silence over the affair earlier this month in a column, saying the incident had left him physically ill. Johnson indicated that he might be a witness in a serious criminal investigation. Published on Oct 17, 2018 Chris Boxall, Fundamental Asset Management, says that the issues around the suspension of Patisserie Holdings, which … He said: “Was it a fraud of a successful business where money was removed from the accounts of the company or was it a fraud which caused an unsuccessful business to appear successful. Trump pardons two convicted by Russia inquiry, EU urges its members to lift UK travel bans, Can pregnant women receive the vaccine? It depends, 1,000 lost on one boat - this woman hopes to name them, Wuhan scientist 'welcomes' visit over lab leak claim, Twitter's copyright policy 'used to silence activists', .css-q4by3k-IconContainer{display:none;height:1em;width:1em;vertical-align:-0.125em;margin-right:0.25em;}playHow a girl's fairy house sparked a magical friendship. Patisserie Valerie has collapsed into administration, putting up to 3,000 jobs at risk, after it was unable to extend its bank facilities amid allegations of fraud. Johnson said he had been tricked by a fake picture of its financial health by others, while he also questioned a rosy bill of health given to the company by auditors Grant Thornton. The company went bust in January, sparking the loss of 900 jobs when 70 of its almost-200 stores and concessions closed. In October it said those figures were likely to be £120m revenue for the year and earnings of £12m. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Patisserie Valerie auditor faces probe over alleged fraud, Patisserie Valerie chairman Luke Johnson faces investor fury, Patisserie Valerie finds 'secret' overdrafts, Patisserie Valerie saved by cash injection, Patisserie Valerie says finance chief arrested, Patisserie Valerie warns it is on the brink of collapse, Trump rejects 'wasteful' coronavirus stimulus bill. It was acquired by well-known entrepreneur, Luke Johnson, in 2006 and he took the role of executive chairman, recruiting a CEO and CFO with whom he had worked before in earlier ventures. Matt Scaife, a partner at CCP, said it was clear the company had been “seriously mismanaged” in the run up to its collapse. Patisserie Valerie is a chain of high street cake shops, which had been expanded from eight shops in 2006 to over 200 in 2018. Patisserie Valerie's potentially fraudulent accounting scandal is embarrassing for the chairman and majority shareholder, who claimed only last May the firm had a 'strong balance sheet'. … On the 16th of January, Patisserie Valerie warned that its accounting scandal could be worse than it had thought with “thousands of false entries into the company’s ledgers”. According to The Telegraph, the baked goods will be sold in its supermarkets from 2 December.. Patisserie Valerie collapsed earlier this month after finding a £40m hole in its accounts and “significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities”. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has revealed that five unnamed people were arrested in relation to the accounting fraud scandal at Patisserie Valerie on 18 June. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. Patisserie Valerie was bought out of administration in February by an Irish private equity firm, Causeway Capital Partners (CCP) for £5m, in a move that helped to save around 2,000 jobs and kept 96 outlets open. This includes thousands of false entries in its ledgers, .css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link{color:#3F3F42;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{font-weight:bolder;border-bottom:1px solid #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{border-bottom-color:currentcolor;border-bottom-width:2px;color:#B80000;}@supports (text-underline-offset:0.25em){.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{border-bottom:none;-webkit-text-decoration:underline #BABABA;text-decoration:underline #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-underline-offset:0.25em;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{-webkit-text-decoration-color:currentcolor;text-decoration-color:currentcolor;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-decoration-thickness:2px;color:#B80000;}}it said in a statement. Forensic accountants from KPMG concluded in March that the accounts had been overstated by approximately £94m, after previous estimates had put the figure at about £40m. The chain started life in London’s Soho in 1926 and, at its height, employed about 3,000 staff across almost 200 outlets and was once valued at £450m. The investigation will be conducted under the Audit Enforcement Procedure. Luke Johnson, the cafe chain’s former chair and a columnist for the Sunday Times, was not among those arrested, according to an article in the newspaper. “On Tuesday 18 June, as part of a joint operation with the Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Metropolitan Police Services, the SFO arrested and questioned five people in connection with the ongoing investigation into individuals associated … Premier delivery service is next day service for cake lovers throughout the UK to enjoy quality chocolate cakes and celebrate special occasions at home. The SFO did not disclose the names of those arrested or what they had been detained for, although said it was conducting inquiries into the role of individuals in the firm’s slide into administration. Its probe has found "extensive" misstatement of its accounts and "very significant manipulation of the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts". The owner of Patisserie Valerie has uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities" and discovered HMRC has filed a … U.K. entrepreneur Luke Johnson’s efforts to save Patisserie Valerie failed as an accounting scandal pushed the bakery chain’s parent into insolvency, threatening as … With the last traded price 429.5p Valerie chain, the baked goods will be sold its... October without being charged to lift UK travel bans, can pregnant women receive the vaccine fraud which to! Of stricken cafe chain Patisserie Valerie shares remain suspended with the last price. 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