Patisserie Valerie says finance chief arrested
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The owner of Patisserie Valerie has said its finance director Chris Marsh was arrested last night and then released on bail.
The cafe chain is fighting for survival after revealing on Wednesday it had uncovered “significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities”.
Mr Marsh had been suspended when these problems were discovered.
On Thursday, the firm said it needed “an immediate injection of capital” to continue trading in its current form.
The company, in which entrepreneur Luke Johnson has a 37% stake, did not provide any details of its fund-raising effort in its latest statement.
In a brief announcement to the stock market, Patisserie Holdings – the owner of the cafe chain – said: “The company has been made aware that Chris Marsh, who is currently suspended from his role as company finance director, was arrested by the police last night and has been released on bail. Further updates will be released in due course as appropriate”.
Shares in Patisserie Holdings were suspended on Wednesday.
In its most recent results statement in May, the firm said it had cash reserves of £28.8m.
