Four charged with Patisserie Valerie collapse

This includes the former director and chief financial officer of the high street bakery firm, Christopher Marsh, for 12 years, as well as his wife, accountant Louise Marsh, financial controller Pritesh Mistry and financial consultant Nileshkumar Lad.  

The prosecutor authority opened an investigation into the conduct, codenamed “Operation Venom”, two days after the company abruptly suspended trading back in October 2018.   

Off the back of this, the SFO has charged all four suspects with conspiring to inflate the cash in the company’s balance sheets and annual reports from 2015 to 2018, including by providing false documentation to the company’s auditors. During this time, the company also reported holding £28m in accounts, yet concealed £10m worth of debts from its investors and creditors. 

Lisa Osofsky, director of the SFO, said: “Patisserie Valerie’s abrupt collapse rocked our high streets – leaving boarded-up shops, devastating job losses and significant investor losses in its wake. Today is a step forward in getting to the bottom of this scandal.”