Patisserie Valerie, which was acquired following the collapse of Patisserie Holdings, has closed a further 14 of its sites.
Dublin-based private equity firm Causeway Capital, which bought Patisserie Valerie in February, today confirmed the closure of what it described as 14 of the brand’s smaller locations.
“The difficult decision was reached following a detailed review of the size, trading performance and location of each store over the past five months,” the firm stated. “These difficult measures will enable it to better focus its investment programme on improving the quality of its patisseries over the coming months.”
Causeway said the remaining 75 Patisserie Valerie locations represented the larger, best-performing sites. The company, which also has a stake in bakery and coffee chain Bakers + Baristas, plans to now focus on investing in quality ingredients and improving the in-store experience for customers.
Patisserie Valerie was trading from 153 locations before Patisserie Holdings entered administration in January, when more than 60 were closed down immediately. Administrators were called in after Patisserie Holdings failed to renew its banking facilities following the discovery of a black hole in its finances in 2018.
Causeway took on 96 Patisserie Valerie sites along with bakeries and the Flour Power City brand.
Former CEO Steve Francis and commercial director Rhys Iley, who both joined Patisserie Holdings following the financial crisis that led to its collapse, are no longer with the business. Paolo Peretti, who has worked for businesses including Pret A Manger and Leon, has since been appointed managing director for retail, with Jose Peralta remaining with the business as managing director of production.
Of the remaining former Patisserie Holdings brands, wholesaler Blakemore acquired all 21 Philpotts food-to-go stores, while four London outlets of Baker & Spice were acquired by coffee chain Department of Coffee and Social Affairs.
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