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Patisserie Valerie - former CFO charged with fraud

(5 Posts)
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Saxifrage Thu 28-Sept-23 07:44:52

My parents would go there in the late 1930s just before the war, my name reflects that!

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Aveline Wed 20-Sept-23 14:51:02

It was sad hearing about it at the time.

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TerriBull Wed 20-Sept-23 14:49:30

I seem to remember getting free coffees from one of their branches via some sort of Premier banking scheme we had with Barclays at one time. I don't remember the one in London, although I imagine it was quite special having the French patisserie feel about it then, before it got lost in the tidal wave of coffee establishments that we have on the high street these days.

It is awful how so often employees are let down by greedy bosses.

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GrannyGravy13 Wed 20-Sept-23 14:05:05

Good, there was a branch inside Debenhams in our County Town, fabulous cakes and lovely staff.

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Dinahmo Wed 20-Sept-23 13:57:50

Does anyone remember the original Patisserie Valerie on Old Compton Street in Soho? I occasionally went there for coffee or to buy some cakes to take away.

It was sold by descendants of the founders in 1987 and grew to be 9 shops when the business was sold in 2006. By the time the company failed in 2019 it had grown to 192 shops.

The then CEO, his wife (an accountant) and 2 other financiers have been charged with fraud by the SFO. They will appear in court next month. t has taken nearly 5 years to get to this stage and it is to be hoped that future investigations can be dealt with more quickly.

Anyway, it's good news that the destroyers of a once loved cake shop are being brought to book.

The business still continues following a management buyout in 2019 and apparently you buy some of their cakes in Sainsburys!

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