The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged four people, including a former chief financial officer, with fraud over the collapse of high street bakery chain Patisserie Valerie.

After discovering a multi-million pound hole in its finances, the company suspended trading in 2018. This resulted in the closure of 70 stores and the loss of more than 900 jobs.

On Wednesday, the SFO said that it had completed a five-year investigation named Operation Venom, with that investigation leading to the charges against Patisserie Holdings' former financial boss Christopher Marsh, his accountant wife Louise Marsh, financial controller Pritesh Mistry and financial consultant Nileshkumar Lad

The four are accused of conspiring to inflate the cash on Patisserie Holdings’ balance sheets and annual reports between 2015-2018. The office alleges that they provided false documentation to the company’s auditors.

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.”

The defendants are summoned to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 10 October to hear the charges against them.

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