Over 900 redundancies as 71 Patisserie Valerie stores close

Patisserie Valerie has gone to the wall Credit: PA

Over 900 people are being made redundant as cake chain Patisserie Valerie closed 71 stores after collapsing into administration.

The company's bakery in Spitalfields has been closed along with 27 standalone stores, 19 Druckers outlets and 25 Patisserie Valerie concessions in Debenhams, Next and at motorway service areas at the cost of 920 jobs, KPMG confirmed.

It will be "business as usual" for the remaining 122 outlets while the professional services firm seeks a buyer for the business.

David Costley-Wood, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said the firm was "pleased" with the level of interest the business had received.

Patisserie Valerie are to close 71 stores and outlets across Britain. Credit: PA

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 which the business had not been able to recover from.

The extent of the 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.

  • Which branches of Patisserie Valerie stores have closed?

  • Debenhams concessions:

Basildon Debenhams - The Eastgate CentreBeverley Debenhams - Unit 4 Flemingate Centre, FlemingateChelmsford Debenhams - 27 High StEdinburgh Debenhams - 109 Princes StreetGlasgow Debenhams - 97 Argyle StreetHereford Debenhams - Auctioneers Walk, The Old MarketLiverpool Debenhams - 42 Lord StreetLondon Debenhams - 10 Garratt Lane, Southside Shopping Centre, WandsworthLondon Debenhams - Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel WayLondon Debenhams - 334-348 Oxford StreetMiddlesbrough Debenhams - The Corner, 1 Newport Rd,Newport Debenhams - 1-7 Friars Walk Shopping Centre, John Frost SquareOxford Debenhams - 1-12 Magdalen StreetRedditch Debenhams - Kingfisher Shopping Centre, 19 Watford WalkStevenage Debenhams - Roaring Meg Retail ParkTelford Debenhams - Telford Shopping CentreWigan Debenhams - Unit 39 Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, Compton Street - Druckers outletsBanbury Druckers - Unit 28, Castle Quay Shopping Centre Castle StreetBirmingham Druckers - Cafe 1, Upper Mall WestBirmingham Druckers - 100 Great Western ArcadeBurton Druckers - Centre Mall Cafe, Cooper Square Shopping CentreCheltenham Druckers - Unit 28 Regent ArcadeCoventry Druckers - 66 Hertford StreetDudley Druckers - Unit L78C Finance Mall Merry Hill CentreHanley Druckers - Unit 230, The Mall Cafe The Potteries Shopping CentreLeamington Spa Druckers - Unit 35 Royal PriorsLeeds White Rose Druckers - White Rose Shopping Centre South MallLeicester Druckers - Fosse Park Food CourtManchester Druckers - 169 The Arndale CentreNottingham Druckers - 218 Victoria CentrePoole Druckers - The Mall Cafe Dolphin CenterRedditch Druckers - 25E Kingfisher WalkSolihul Druckers - 26 Jubilee WalkStratford Upon Avon Druckers - 43 Henley StreetTamworth Druckers - 51 Ankerside Centre George StreetWolverhampton Druckers 61 Dudley Street

  • Motorway concessions

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

  • Next concessions

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

  • Standalone Patisserie Valerie stores

Bradford - The BroadwayBrighton - 36 East StreetBristol - 57 Queens RoadBury - 26-28 The HaymarketChester - 31 Bridge StreetChippenham - Unit 1b Borough ParadeCwmbran - 8 The MallDerby - 2 Crown WalkDoncaster - Unit 100, 20 St Sepulchre Gate, Frenchgate Shopping CentreGlasgow - B12 Glasgow FortGlasgow - 18-20 Royal Exchange SquareGloucester - 4 Southgate StreetLeeds - Unit 2 Ground Floor, 8 St Pauls StreetLiverpool - Unit 1, 35 WhitechapelLondon - 37 Brushfield SteetLondon - 94 Holland Park AvenueLondon - 44 Old Compton StreetLondon - 24-26 Turnham Green TerraceLondon - 27 Kensington Church StreetLondon - 15 Bedford StreetLondon - 80 Long AcreLondon - 215 Brompton RoadManchester - 2-4 St Ann StreetNewcastle - 141 Grainger StreetPeterborough - 2 Cathedral SquareSalisbury - 24 Butchers RowSouthport - 365 Lord Street