Patisserie Share Discussion Threads

[jotoha2] 19/1/2019 09:58

This was a tinkie rinkie business , and the blame is with the whole BOD , margins were far to good , it was essentially a ponzi scheme and the BOD just loved it , shares rising , option money rolling in, LJ walking of with £50 million says it all.

[robertball] 19/1/2019 09:18

Audited the wrong company. Cash on one, debt in another

[mcmather] 18/1/2019 23:46

Don't buy that; there was the winding up petition by hmrc, suppliers haven't been paid and will no doubt have been chasing payment and far more keenly than 'Linda can you just check that this has been paid', someone must have come across something about the adverse position - even if by accident - within the business, etc.

[diku] 18/1/2019 23:19

When money is involved shouldn't there be some sort of mechanism/procedure in place whereby cross checking figures by someone at higher authority...if that was in place then surely the so called fraud would have been picked up much sooner due to discrepancies...or was it a case of someone cooking up the books/figures but the physical cash was much lower?...




topvest
17 Jan '19 - 18:39 - 2546 of 2571
0   1  1



The comments above are a bit strong in my view. The auditors and non executive directors have been deceived by an intricate fraud. The short selling position was nil, so even the hedge funds missed it. The blame lies PRIMARILY with the fraudsters, and they should be formally charged and sent to prison.

[eeza] 18/1/2019 21:56

Talks were still ongoing when thee Market closed.

[bookbroker] 18/1/2019 21:47

Wouldn’t get an announcement until Monday in any case, but the press will have a snifter before then!

[pugugly] 18/1/2019 21:29

Probably wekend cancelled and banks/other creditors locked in rooms with the new directors - fraud investigators and forensic accountants trying to determine if there is a viable business which can repay debts from current trading - Probably should be a statement early next week- From recent news I suspect odds in favour of liquidation - Who needs tea shops - they went out of fashion years ago (1977) when Joe Lyons closed.
"The Rise and Fall of the Lyons’ Cornerhouses and their Nippy Waitresses"

"The company’s fall came as fast its original rise. In the time-honoured way it overstretched on its borrowings" Sound familar!!!!

I suppose with hind-sight this history will prove to have been the biggest red flag of all.

[danny baker] 18/1/2019 21:24

Probably any bad news announcement will be made well after 10 pm when all the stores are closed to avoid cake related trouble at the motorway services cafes.

[daffyjones] 18/1/2019 21:01

So looks like they must have rolled over their debts. No news of them going into administration

[montyhedge] 18/1/2019 18:12

OPM other people's money, simple.

[zapa] 18/1/2019 15:57

Well for starters look at 30th September 2017 Balance sheet/ current assets/ trade and other receivables then subtract the closing balance from the opening balance.That figure should be 1323 now go to the cash flow statement trade and other receivables and see if it reads (1323).

It says (559). Not hard to spot in fact there are many red flags .

[tradejunkie2] 18/1/2019 15:39

I think the institutional investors got fed allot of tasty cake

[owenski] 18/1/2019 15:34

"We were amazed that large institutions were prepared to inject £15.7m"

I'm not, institutions have always been blaze with other folks money. It's not their money, they still get a wage and bonuses though.

[zztop] 18/1/2019 11:49

Think most knew what was happeningBut kept head down as long as they could

[poacher45] 18/1/2019 09:05

I do not understand why the accountants did not find this huge fraud. In my experience accountants randomly check stock suppliers invoices and sales invoices. Obviously they ask the banks to confirm bank balances. How could this happen?

[rcturner2] 18/1/2019 08:10

topvest, what is the point of the directors and auditors then? If they do not carry any liability then they have zero interest in doing anything other than drawing their (very generous) fees.

Are you an accountant by any chance?

[ntv] 18/1/2019 08:10

so one person cooked the books for all those years and no one else knew anything at all?
what really?
Despite DD?
looks like a few lawyers will be kept busy for a few Years

[ntv] 18/1/2019 08:05

Another shareholder who backed the company’s fundraising last year said: “It is not a good position .R01;. . It looked a cheap price [in October], but [Wednesday’s] statement implies [at least] 15 per cent less ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation]. It’s not great but on a risk-reward basis we thought it was worth doing.”

now that is funny

[owenski] 17/1/2019 21:00

One hand giveth, the other hand........ etc

[phowdo] 17/1/2019 20:57

Luke Johnson banked about £50M from the IPO and subsequent sale of shares. He did put £10M back in at the rescue last year. So only up a measly £40M.
The CEO and CFO banked some £5-10M apiece from the IPO, subsequent sales and subsequent exercise of options.
The CFO will probably be the fall-guy but even so I doubt he'll be paying back the millions. So after he has done 12-18 months stretch in a nice open prison he'll be able to retire very comfortably.

[edmondj] 17/1/2019 20:50

Shareholders in the company that owns Patisserie Valerie are increasingly concerned that the café chain could be sold cheaply or even put into administration after it warned that its accounting problems ran deeper than initially thought.

Patisserie Holdings is in urgent talks with its lenders HSBC and Barclays to extend a financing agreement beyond its scheduled expiry on Friday and has retained KPMG to “review all options available” to recover and preserve value.

“I hope the banks give it some grace and that they can come back to the market, perhaps raising some more funds depending on the position at that time,” said Paul Mumford at Cavendish Asset Management, who holds the stock in a growth fund.

“But I think some other shareholders are a bit miffed,” he added.

The company said on Wednesday that the misstatement of its accounts, first revealed last October, involved “very significant manipulation” of the balance sheet and profit and loss account involving “thousands of false entries” in its ledgers.

“That makes me think this had been going on for some years and that profits and the balance sheet had been overstated for a long time,” added Mr Mumford.

Another shareholder who backed the company’s fundraising last year said: “It is not a good position . . . It looked a cheap price [in October], but [Wednesday’s] statement implies [at least] 15 per cent less ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation]. It’s not great but on a risk-reward basis we thought it was worth doing.”

KPMG’s involvement also raises the possibility of a company voluntary arrangement, a form of insolvency that would allow Patisserie Valerie to restructure its 200-strong store estate by either closing outlets or reducing rents. CVAs have been widely used elsewhere in the casual dining sector.

KPMG declined to comment.

One investment manager who holds the stock on behalf of several discretionary portfolios said he feared Patisserie Holdings may be finished as a listed company. “I can see very little value there for existing shareholders,” he said, adding that future legal and regulatory action could bring high costs.

Patisserie Holdings discovered accounting irregularities last autumn, prompting the suspension of its shares and the arrest of its finance director, Chris Marsh. He has been released on bail without charges. Lee Ginsberg, the non-executive director who chaired the audit committee, resigned on Thursday “to focus on other commitments” — meaning that of the original five-man board, only executive chairman Luke Johnson remains in post.

Mr Johnson, a leisure sector entrepreneur and Patisserie Holdings’ biggest shareholder, lent the company £20m after the discovery of the accounting problems, and organised a share issue to repay £10m of that, with another £5m going into the company to provide working capital. The only new financial information provided at the time of the refinancing was that profit for the year to September was likely to be £12m, rather than the £30m forecast. That estimate has now been called into question.

Patisserie Holdings declined to comment.

[bbmsionlypostafter] 17/1/2019 20:17

It's a serious question.

Did they steal money from CAKE, did they earn big bonuses by cooking the books, did they exercise £Ms in options, did they hold a huge short or what?

What did they gain for what surely must be criminal acts which have certainly ended their professional careers & jeopardized their liberty.

[tradejunkie2] 17/1/2019 20:11

Maybe they like cakes?