Now Patisserie boss’s bakery firm goes stale
PROFITS at Luke Johnson’s artisan bakery were nearly wiped out last year, delivering another blow to the embattled entrepreneur as he fights to fix the mess at his Patisserie Valerie chain.
The parent company of Gail’s Bakery, chaired by Johnson, saw profits tumble to just £142,000 in the year to February 2018, down from £2million the year before.
That was despite revenues at Bread Holdings rising from £79million to £86.4million, accounts filed at Companies House reveal.
As well as Gail’s, Johnson’s umbrella company also includes the Bread Factory which supplies Waitrose and Ocado.
London-based Bread Holdings cited competition in both the retail bakery and wholesale markets for its fall in profits.
Risk Capital Partners, Johnson’s private equity firm, backed a management buyout of Bread Holdings in 2011 and owns around half of the firm. He had been eyeing a sale of the company, but the process has been put on hold until after Brexit. Earlier this year, it was rumoured scandal-hit Patisserie Holdings – the parent of cake and cafe chain Patisserie Valerie – considered buying Bread Holdings.
Gail’s has 47 bakeries, mainly in London, but it is now expanding further afield. It grew 25 per cent last year, while the Bread Factory grew by just 2 per cent.
Last week, AIM-listed Patisserie Holdings hired Nick Perrin as interim chief financial officer. He succeeds Chris Marsh, who has quit over the discovery of a £40million black hole that is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. Perrin joins new chief executive Steve Francis.
The cafe and restaurant sector has faced a tough year, with Prezzo, Byron Hamburgers, Jamie’s Italian, and Carluccio’s all closing restaurants.