Patisserie Valerie administrator sells Baker & Spice cafe chain

ADMINISTRATORS TO stricken cake chain Patisserie Valerie have sold off one of the firm’s sister brands Baker & Spice to cafe chain the Department of Coffee & Social Affairs for £2.5m.

Baker & Spice has five stores in the UK.

It comes a day after KPMG announced that 96 stores contained within the main Patisserie Valerie business have been bought by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital Partners for £13m.

That deal safeguarded nearly 2,000 jobs.

In a separate transaction, food

wholesaler AF Blakemore & Son has picked up all 21 Philpotts stores.

Patisserie Valerie, which was chaired by businessman Luke Johnson, inset, was put up for sale last month after collapsing following the discovery of fraudulent activity in its accounts.

Last month the firm said the extent of fraud meant it was unable to renew its bank loans with HSBC and Barclays and it did not have sufficient funding to continue trading, leaving it with no option but to appoint KPMG as administrator.

KPMG has already closed 70 stores, resulting in 920 redundancies.

Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley subsequently submitted a bid for the chain, but later withdrew it, complaining that he had been locked out of the process by KPMG.

The remaining Patisserie Valerie assets, which were not included in the three separate transactions, will be realised during the administrations.

Following the loss of its nominated adviser and the appointment of administrators, the company is provisionally scheduled for cancellation with effect from 7am on February 25.