Patisserie Valerie appoints administrators to probe Grant Thornton
KPMG cannot investigate Grant Thornton due to conflict of interest.
Patisserie Valerie’s creditors have appointed new administrators to probe Grant Thornton’s, the cafe chain’s auditor.
FRP Advisory senior partners Paul Allen and Geoff Rowley will lead the investigation, which will explore legal claims in an attempt to return money to investors who lost funds when the business collapsed.
FRP is taking over from KPMG after the financial services firm said it could not investigate Grant Thornton, citing a conflict of interest as Grant Thornton audits KPMG’s accounts.
“The liquidators will now work with the administrators KPMG to ensure an orderly hand over before conducting their investigation,” FRP said in a statement.
Grant Thornton is currently under investigation by the Financial Reporting Council, which is looking into the audits it did of the bakery chain’s finances from 2006.
Patisserie Holdings, the bakery’s parent company, collapsed earlier this year after “significant and potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities” were discovered. The chain was rescued from liquidation by private equity firm Causeway Capital Partners in February, saving around 2,000 jobs and 96 of the company’s remaining branches.
