A former director and chief financial officer of a bakery chain, along with three others, has been charged with conspiring to inflate the company’s accounts before its ‘abrupt’ collapse.

Christopher Marsh, former director and chief financial officer of Patisserie Holdings plc for 12 years, accountant Louise Marsh, financial controller Pritesh Mistry and financial consultant Nileshkumar Lad were served with charges at their home this week.

The Serious Fraud Office started an investigation into the bakery’s collapse, codenamed ‘Operation Venom’, in October 2018. The investigation was launched after the company abruptly suspended trading, closing 70 stores and causing the loss of more than 900 jobs.

Patisserie Valerie

The SFO started an investigation into the bakery’s collapse in 2018

Source: Alamy

All four suspects have been charged with conspiring to inflate the cash in Patisserie Holdings’ balance sheets and annual reports from 2015 to 2018. They are alleged to have provided false documentation to the company’s auditors.

During 2015 to 2018, the company reported holding £28m in accounts but the SFO said it ‘concealed £10m in debts from its investors and creditors’.

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 four will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court next month.