10th Oct 2018 14:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Embattled cafe chain operator Patisserie Holdings PLC has received a winding up petition for its principal trading unit Stonebeach Ltd for GBP1.1 million owed to the UK tax collector, the company revealed Wednesday.
The winding up petition in respect of Stonebeach was filed at the High Court of Justice, Companies Court, on September 14 and was advertised in the London Gazette on Friday last week, according to the company.
The news of winding up petition was revealed by Patisserie Holdings in the second of two statements issued Wednesday, after its shares were suspended from trading in London.
Patisserie Holdings said it is in communication with HM Revenue & Customs with the objective of addressing the petition and continues to engage with advisers to understand better the financial position of the group.
Earlier on Wednesday, Patisserie Holdings reported "significant and potentially fraudulent" accounting irregularities.
The company, which owns the Patisserie Valerie brand, said that the irregularities "may lead to a material change in its overall financial position" as they could imply a material mis-statement of the firm's accounts.
The company, which operates from over 200 stores across the UK, requested its shares be suspended from trading on AIM in London while it conducts an investigation into its "true financial position".
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Chris Marsh has been suspended from his role, although the company made no accusation of wrongdoing against him at this stage.
Chairman Luke Johnson, who is also the company's largest shareholder with a 70% stake, said: "We are all deeply concerned about this news and the potential impact on the business. We are determined to understand the full details of what has happened and will communicate these to investors and stakeholders as soon as possible."
According to Sky News, the hole in the company's accounts could be "over GBP20 million".
For the financial year ended September 30, 2017, the cafe owner and cake seller recorded 17% rise in pretax profit to GBP20.2 million from GBP17.2 million the year prior. Revenue grew 9.7% to GBP114.2 million from GBP104.1 million the year before.
In the six months ended March 31 of this year, Patisserie reported pretax profit of GBP11.1 million, up 14% from GBP9.7 million year-on-year. Revenue grew 9% to GBP60.5 million from GBP55.5 million in the same period a year ago.
Related Shares:
Patisserie Holdings Plc