The former Patisserie Valerie chief financial officer and his wife will face a fraud trial following the collapse of the bakery chain which left a £94 million hole in its accounts.
Christopher Marsh, 49, is accused of defrauding the company’s shareholders and creditors between October 2015 and October 2018.
The former director and chief finance officer of Patisserie Holdings Plc, the company behind Patisserie Valerie, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh, 55, were charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), appearing in Southwark Crown court today.
Mr Marsh’s former number two, financial controller Pritesh Mistry, 41 and financial consultant Nileshkumar Lad, 50, also face fraud charges.
An investigation was launched by the SFO in 2018 into a case which saw the bakery chain, which had 200 stores, tumble into administration with a £94 million hole in its accounts in 2019.
Christopher Marsh (pictured), 49, is accused of defrauding the company’s shareholders and creditors between October 2015 and October 2018
Accountant and wife of the ex-chief financial offer of Patisserie Holdings, Louise Marsh (pictured), 55, was also charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), appearing in Southwark Crown court today
The four are charged with ‘conspiring to inflate the cash in Patisserie Holdings’ balance sheets and annual reports from 2015 to 2018, but will not face trial until March 2026.
The defendants sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court, central London, today, speaking only to confirm their names before being granted bail ahead of a case management hearing on 26 April 2024, when they will be asked to enter pleas.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have said that they brought charges against the four who oversaw the ‘financial failure’ of the chain of almost 200 high street bakeries.
Christopher and Louise Marsh, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, Mistry, of Leicester and Lad, of Harrow, northwest London, are all accused of conspiracy to defraud, five charges of fraud by false representation, and making or supplying an article for use in fraud.
Christopher Marsh, Mistry and Lad also face five charges of fraud by false representation and one of making or supplying an article for use in fraud.
Christopher Marsh also faces a charge of making false representations as a company director.
A trial was fixed for 2 March 2026 and is expected to last 13 weeks.
The SFO have said that the company had reported holding £28 million in its accounts, but did not tell investors and creditors about £10 million in debts.
An investigation was launched by the SFO in 2018 into a case which saw the bakery chain, which had 200 stores, tumble into administration with a £94 million hole in its accounts in 2019
The company and many of its shops were later bought out of administration by Causeway Capital Partners, an Irish private equity business, for £5 million
Patisserie Valerie was founded by entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who was a millionaire aged 30 after floating Pizza Express
The SFO’s investigation was launched in 2018 into a case that saw the bakery chain tumble into administration with a £94 million hole in it accounts in early 2019.
The company and many of its shops were later bought out of administration by Causeway Capital Partners, an Irish private equity business, for £5 million.
The move safeguarded around 2,000 jobs and many of the company’s shops, but around 900 were lost.
Accountants at consultancy giant KPMG concluded that, among other things, the bakery had overstated how much it was owed by others and understated how much it owed.
Lisa Osofsky, Director of the SFO, earlier said: ‘Patisserie Valerie’s abrupt collapse rocked our high streets – leaving boarded-up shops, devastating job losses and significant investor losses in its wake.’
In 2018, the bakery faced liquidation unless it paid a £1.14million unpaid tax bill – hours after a £20million black hole was discovered in its accounts.
In an extraordinary statement to the London Stock Exchange owner Patisserie Holdings said today that it found a ‘material shortfall’ in its fund.
After announcing that the bakery was in financial peril, it suspended its shares and its finance chief Chris Marsh amid the chaos with its books. 24 hours later it was handed a winding up petition from HMRC.
Patisserie Valerie was founded by entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who was a millionaire aged 30 after floating Pizza Express.
The four remain on bail, on condition they don’t make contact with each other. The condition does not apply to Christopher and Louise Marsh, who are married and live together.
None of the defendants were asked to enter any pleas on Tuesday.
They will appear at the same court on April 26 next year to enter pleas and are scheduled for trial on March 2 2026.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
