{"id":3912,"date":"2018-11-02T08:43:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T08:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/patisserie-valerie-chairman-luke-johnson-faces-investor-fury\/"},"modified":"2018-11-02T08:43:53","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T08:43:53","slug":"patisserie-valerie-chairman-luke-johnson-faces-investor-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/patisserie-valerie-chairman-luke-johnson-faces-investor-fury\/","title":{"rendered":"Patisserie Valerie chairman Luke Johnson faces investor fury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shareholders in the owner of struggling cafe chain Patisserie Valerie have vented their anger at the firm’s chairman, despite backing his rescue plan for the business.<\/p>\n

At an emergency general meeting, more than 99% of shareholders backed a plan to issue \u00a315m of new shares.<\/p>\n

However, investors in the 206-store chain harangued chairman Luke Johnson.<\/p>\n

They felt cheated that new investors are getting a share of the company at a knock-down price.<\/p>\n

Shareholders also accused Mr Johnson of “holding a gun” to their heads over the rescue deal.<\/p>\n

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Media caption<\/span>Patisserie Valerie shareholder Chris Boxall said the plan was the best outcome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One shareholder, Heather Goddard, told the BBC: “I felt closed off in the meeting and I didn’t feel any questions were answered. <\/p>\n

“I felt when he came in and started the meeting saying 99% of the votes in by proxy were in support of them, what he was basically saying to me was, ‘You don’t count.’ <\/p>\n

“When I asked him why there was there a gun to our head for this deadline… he didn’t provide me with an answer I understood.”<\/p>\n

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Analysis<\/h2>\n

Simon Jack, business editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the shareholders had no choice. Approve a plan that will see new investors get shares at a massive discount to the existing owners – or see the company collapse, wiping out the value of their investment entirely. <\/p>\n

Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who built Pizza Express and Feng Sushi into successful businesses and owned 37% of Patisserie Valerie, put \u00a320m of his own money into the company in early October, when the chain was hours away from folding. <\/p>\n

That didn’t stop small shareholders from being angry and feeling short-changed. There were bad-tempered exchanges at the company’s emergency meeting. <\/p>\n

The sale of \u00a315m in new shares will be used to pay Mr Johnson back \u00a310m of his emergency loan. <\/p>\n

Many small investors told the BBC they backed the company because they trusted Mr Johnson. <\/p>\n

He said he would be stepping down from a significant number of other company boards to focus on reviving that trust and the company. <\/p>\n

With a forensic accounting probe and a Serious Fraud Office inquiry under way, that will be a full-time job.<\/p>\n

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Mr Johnson was forced to lend Patisserie Holdings – which owns the Patisserie Valerie chain – \u00a320m of his own money to prevent its collapse after directors said it required an immediate cash injection.<\/p>\n

He said on Thursday that the firm had been “three hours from going into bankruptcy”, adding that he would be reducing his other commitments to focus on rescuing Patisserie Valerie.<\/p>\n

The chain is still fighting for survival after revealing last month it had uncovered “significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities”. Trading in the company’s shares has been temporarily halted.<\/p>\n

Finance director Chris Marsh is the subject of a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

Mr Marsh was suspended when the problems were discovered, and he resigned from his position on 26 October. <\/p>\n

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Patisserie Holdings<\/h2>\n