Patisserie Share Discussion Threads

[hvs] 11/10/2018 09:49

Totally wrong.

There was FRAUD there were no profits as stated. Looks like the FD was a rogue and Grant Thornton as usual did not do their job.

The worst part HMRC is winding it up.

A total PUMP and DUMP job.

[danny baker] 11/10/2018 09:44

The more I think about this debacle unauthorised commodity speculation is the most compelling reason for a £20 million hole to be blown in the accounts with the cash disappearing into thin air. You can imagine how it could start with a little innocent hedge to protect the year's profits from a sharp rise in cocoa or coffee. Then maybe increase it to try and make some profit then when it goes wrong keep doubling up to try and win it back until all the cash is gone. Coffee and cocoa prices have fallen heavily which has surprised many experts.

I'm a rubbernecker when it comes to corporate disasters so I have seen most things before. Looking at it I believe CAKE is a fundamentally sound business which unfortunately in my opinion has been hit by a rogue trader.

[snoopy12] 11/10/2018 09:32

Was this not being tipped as a buy in a tip sheet and that too not long ago.

[hvs] 11/10/2018 09:23

Let them eat CAKE they says and you you cant eat it and still have eat.

[j777j] 11/10/2018 09:07

Patisserie Valerie was ruined when LJ took it over.All the cakes ended up being made in Birmingham or somewhere up north instead of locally. The quality fell off a cliff and all became bland and the same as all the other mass market chains.Great shame.

[haroldthegreat] 11/10/2018 08:44

The profit margin on cakes and coffee are massive . Giving free WiFi and having people occupy a table for 3 hours will reduce turnover of spaces . I do not know if they offer free Wi-Fi ..
Perhaps there should be a limit on free wifi. 30 minutes per purchase ?

[haroldthegreat] 11/10/2018 08:37

The bill for the examination of what went wrong will be massive . Look at the figures for air partner following their problems ..

[18bells] 11/10/2018 08:33

There seems to be a lot of retailers opening far too many shops across London. I've always been puzzled as to how they make enough money to cover the rent and wages let alone materials and shareholders. There seems to be a strategy flood the high streets with your brand and people will believe it's popular, great and successful - but are they successful are they that good ? I've also wondered are they been funded by other sources? "Anything else to declare madam?"

[haroldthegreat] 11/10/2018 08:31

Smokey you might not be interested in the stain on LJ but hopefully he will be .who will invest in his companies in the future ? Will newspapers want to publish his column in the future ? Watch what he writes this sunday. Who will pay him to speak at their functions ? There might be a market for speeches on how I was deceived by ..... When I wrote books on fraud in business !

[cockneytrader] 11/10/2018 08:26

There is unfortunately a lot more to this. If it was a straightforward error there would have been an RNS this morning. This is going to be a full blown accounting forensics job, and as I hate to say it odds are there will be very little for shareholders at the end of it. I hope that I am wrong.

[hpcg] 11/10/2018 08:25

Interesting thoughts DB. I looked at the financial metric charts in Stockopedia last night and there are some scarily straight lines. However that is hindsight investing to a large extent. To be fair here not even the chart suggests something this significant. The lack of a pre-market announcement is not a good sign, it means they still don't know what has happened (effect) even if it is reasonable to assume the what has happened (cause) might take longer. Hedging gone wrong would be another case that is recoverable.

[spoole5] 11/10/2018 08:23

Cakes in my pat val this morning!

[snoopy12] 11/10/2018 08:18

The £20 million could be sitting offshore.Massive audit trail to find it.

[jimmyloser] 11/10/2018 08:15

Forgive me if I am behind the curve here but just where did the figure of
£20 million come from?.
TIA

[danny baker] 11/10/2018 08:11

I had a look at the Stonebeach accounts and the one thing which stuck out was the comment on tracking the prices of key commodities, cocoa, coffee, wheat etc. Ok CAKE uses coffee and flour but because the margins are so high there is no need to hedge the commodity risk. I am wondering whether the FD maybe took it upon himself to try and hedge against commodity price movements. The sharp fall in coffee prices has caught a lot of people out. If someone has been playing the commodity markets and getting it wrong it could offer a plausible explanation as to how £20 million in cash could disappear so quickly.

[snoopy12] 11/10/2018 08:06

Probably Mike Ashley pondering on another high street failed business.

[cockneytrader] 11/10/2018 08:00

Jimmy. You are right, but there is a vile little weasel in there who needs to go to jail.

[this_time_its_different] 11/10/2018 08:00

Lube up boys

[volsung] 11/10/2018 07:58

Are they still open?

[jimmyloser] 11/10/2018 07:55

Do something positive instead of all this conjecture and hyperbole...visit a PatVal shop today and buy 'two' cakes instead of one!

I will.

[smokybenchod] 11/10/2018 07:42

Not bothered about the big stain on LJ’s credibility- more bothered about the big stain on 3% of my portfolio. I’ve removed it from my portfolio now which makes me feel better to a degree - as far as I’m concerned this is now a total loss. I knew the risks when investing in AIM but if I had to pick a share at the start of the week which would have dodgy accounts, this would have been last on my list. Absolutely shocking.

[adorling] 11/10/2018 07:36

Big stain on Luke Johnson’s business credibility.

[jonc] 11/10/2018 07:30

It is easy to be wise after the event what seems like an anomaly in the Stonebeach accounts is its ability to meet budget forecasts so closely when almost every other high street food company has struggled with stuttering sales pressure on materials costs and rising wage bills.I wonder if vat has been misappropriated to smooth and flatter the numbers over a period of time.

[montyhedge] 11/10/2018 06:48

Always wondered how this company made so much profit.

[sleepy] 11/10/2018 01:12

On 20 July the company announced that Paul May had exercised options over 1 million shares at 316p. This is interesting as Note 6 in the 2017 Annual Report shows that he has 1 million options exercisable at 170p.