Hundreds made redundant as more than a third of Patisserie Valerie stores shut

Patisserie Valerie

Administrators to failed cake chain Patisserie Valerie have confirmed the closure of 71 stores, resulting in 920 redundancies.

KPMG, which was appointed on Tuesday evening, said the number consists of 27 standalone stores, 19 Druckers outlets and 25 Patisserie Valerie concessions in Debenhams, Next and at motorway service areas. The company’s bakery in Spitalfields has also closed.

The remaining 122 outlets will continue to trade while the professional services firm seeks a buyer for the business.

David Costley-Wood, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “Since our appointment less than 24 hours ago, we have been pleased with the level of interest we have received in the business, and so remain hopeful of achieving a positive outcome.

“In the meantime, we can reassure customers that across the remaining 122 stores, it is all but business as usual.”

Prior to its collapse, the cake chain employed more than 3,000.

Patisserie Valerie said on Tuesday that discussions with its lenders HSBC and Barclays to extend a standstill agreement on its debts had failed, leaving it with no option but to call in corporate undertakers.

The cake firm’s parent company Patisserie Holdings has been grappling with the fallout of an accounting fraud since October.

It said that the extent of fraud meant it was unable to renew its bank loans and it did not have sufficient funding to continue trading.

Chairman Luke Johnson has extended an unsecured, interest-free loan to help ensure that the January wages are paid to all staff working in the ongoing business.

Last week, Patisserie revealed KPMG had been hired to carry out a review of all options following the accounting scandal which pushed it close to collapse in 2018.

It also unveiled the “devastating” extent of irregularities in its books, which included thousands of false entries into the company’s ledgers.

The firm said an initial investigation pointed to cashflow and profitability being worse than previously thought when the problem was first discovered in October.

The discovery of a black hole in the company’s accounts in October last year pushed it into a full blown crisis which saw it almost cease trading.

List of closed Patisserie Valerie outlets:

– Debenhams concessions:

Basildon Debenhams – The Eastgate Centre
Beverley Debenhams – Unit 4 Flemingate Centre, Flemingate
Chelmsford Debenhams – 27 High St
Edinburgh Debenhams – 109 Princes Street
Glasgow Debenhams – 97 Argyle Street
Hereford Debenhams – Auctioneers Walk, The Old Market
Liverpool Debenhams – 42 Lord Street
London Debenhams – 10 Garratt Lane, Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth
London Debenhams – Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel Way
London Debenhams – 334-348 Oxford Street
Middlesbrough Debenhams – The Corner, 1 Newport Rd,
Newport Debenhams – 1-7 Friars Walk Shopping Centre, John Frost Square
Oxford Debenhams – 1-12 Magdalen Street
Redditch Debenhams – Kingfisher Shopping Centre, 19 Watford Walk
Stevenage Debenhams – Roaring Meg Retail Park
Telford Debenhams – Telford Shopping Centre
Wigan Debenhams – Unit 39 Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, Compton Street

– Druckers outlets

Banbury Druckers – Unit 28, Castle Quay Shopping Centre Castle Street
Birmingham Druckers – Cafe 1, Upper Mall West
Birmingham Druckers – 100 Great Western Arcade
Burton Druckers – Centre Mall Cafe, Cooper Square Shopping Centre
Cheltenham Druckers – Unit 28 Regent Arcade
Coventry Druckers – 66 Hertford Street
Dudley Druckers – Unit L78C Finance Mall Merry Hill Centre
Hanley Druckers – Unit 230, The Mall Café The Potteries Shopping Centre
Leamington Spa Druckers – Unit 35 Royal Priors
Leeds White Rose Druckers – White Rose Shopping Centre South Mall
Leicester Druckers – Fosse Park Food Court
Manchester Druckers – 169 The Arndale Centre
Nottingham Druckers – 218 Victoria Centre
Poole Druckers – The Mall Cafe Dolphin Center
Redditch Druckers – 25E Kingfisher Walk
Solihul Druckers – 26 Jubilee Walk
Stratford Upon Avon Druckers – 43 Henley Street
Tamworth Druckers – 51 Ankerside Centre George Street
Wolverhampton Druckers 61 Dudley Street

– Motorway concessions

Baldock – Unit 3 Extra MSA Baldock, A1(M) Junction 10
Beaconsfield – Unit 2, M40 Junction 2
Cambridge – A14 (M11) Cambridge, Boxworth
Peterborough – Great North Road, Haddon

– Next concessions

Cheltenham Next – 1A-1B, Gallagher Retail Park, Tewkesbury Road
Hounslow Next – Unit 1 Treaty Centre, 263-265 High Street
Manchester Next – Unit 1C, Barton Square, Barton Dock Road
Manchester Next – Unit 22 Manchester Fort Shopping Centre, Cheetham Hill Rd

– Standalone Patisserie Valerie stores

Bradford – The Broadway
Brighton – 36 East Street
Bristol – 57 Queens Road
Bury – 26-28 The Haymarket
Chester – 31 Bridge Street
Chippenham – Unit 1b Borough Parade
Cwmbran – 8 The Mall
Derby – 2 Crown Walk
Doncaster – Unit 100, 20 St Sepulchre Gate, Frenchgate Shopping Centre
Glasgow – B12 Glasgow Fort
Glasgow – 18-20 Royal Exchange Square
Gloucester – 4 Southgate Street
Leeds – Unit 2 Ground Floor, 8 St Pauls Street
Liverpool – Unit 1, 35 Whitechapel
London – 37 Brushfield Steet
London – 94 Holland Park Avenue
London – 44 Old Compton Street
London – 24-26 Turnham Green Terrace
London – 27 Kensington Church Street
London – 15 Bedford Street
London – 80 Long Acre
London – 215 Brompton Road
Manchester – 2-4 St Ann Street
Newcastle – 141 Grainger Street
Peterborough – 2 Cathedral Square
Salisbury – 24 Butchers Row
Southport – 365 Lord Street