Mixed News for Local Cafes With Collapse of Patisserie Valerie
Westfield cafe set for closure but King Street to stay open for now
After being hit by a vast financial scandal in 2018, Patisserie Valerie has collapsed into administration, with 71 cafes, including the branch within Debenhams in Westfield London, earmarked for closure.
Staff at the branch are among around 900 people losing their jobs because of the closures.
However, the cafe in Hammersmith's King Street, which closed when news of the financial fraud first broke in October, then reopened a month later following a rescue plan launched by the chain's chairman Luke Johnson, appears to be among the remaining 122 outlets which are still offering 'business as usual' while administrators KPMG search for a buyer.
The scandal was first revealed when the company admitted it had uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities".
The company's finance chief Chris Marsh was subsequently suspended before being arrested by police and then released on bail.
Earlier this month, the company said that the accounting scandal was even worse than originally thought, and this week, it was announced it was being forced into administration after being unable to extend its bank facilities.
Parent company Patisserie Holdings Plc said: "As a direct result of the significant fraud referred to in previous announcements, it has been unable to renew its bank facilities, and therefore regrettably the business does not have sufficient funding to meet its liabilities as they fall due."
The company added that Luke Johnson had extended a £3 million unsecured, interest-free loan to help ensure that January wages are paid to all staff working in the ongoing business.
As well as the Shepherd's Bush cafe, other local closures over the next few days include cafes in Turnham Green, Wandsworth, Holland Park Avenue, Kensington Church Street and Brompton Road.
Also set to shut is the very first Patisserie Valerie café, which was opened on Soho's Frith Street in 1926 by Belgian-born Madame Valerie. It was destroyed in World War II, with a new site opened at nearby Old Compton Street.
Hammersmith's cafe, in Unit 27, Kings Mall, facing King Street is open from 8am till 8pm Monday to Friday, 8.30am till 8pm on Saturday and 9am till 7pm on Sunday.
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January 24, 2019
October 12, 2018
