Lancaster branch of Patisserie Valerie shuts down suddenly

Patisserie Valerie in Lancaster has shut down not much more than a year after it first opened in the city.
Patisserie Valerie has closed in Lancaster.Patisserie Valerie has closed in Lancaster.
Patisserie Valerie has closed in Lancaster.

A member of staff said the area manager visited the cafe, part of a chain which specialises in luxury handmade cakes and patisserie, on Tuesday afternoon and told the employees not to turn up for work the following day as all the equipment was being removed that night. The employee added that all the staff had lost their jobs.

Lancaster’s Patisserie Valerie cafe opened in May 2018.

Paul May, CEO of Patisserie Holdings PLC, said at the time: “The opening of our first store in Lancaster is a fantastic opportunity to expand our brand into a new area and reach out to new and existing customers.

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“We’ve received numerous requests to open a store in Lancaster, so we very much hope that our customers enjoy the delicious treats that we have to offer.”

Administrators to cafe chain Patisserie Valerie confirmed the closure of 71 of its stores earlier this year, following the company’s collapse, although Lancaster was not on the closure list at that time.

The closures were to result in 920 redundancies, as 27 standalone stores, 19 Druckers outlets and 25 Patisserie Valerie concessions in Debenhams, Next and at motorway service areas ceased trading.

The company’s bakery in Spitalfields also closed.

Patisserie Valerie said on January 22 that discussions with its lenders HSBC and Barclays to extend a standstill agreement on its debts had failed, leaving it with no other option than to call in corporate undertakers.

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David Costley-Wood, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said, “Since our appointment, we have been pleased with the level of interest we have received in the business, and so remain hopeful of achieving a positive outcome.

“In the meantime, we can reassure customers that across the remaining 122 stores, it is all but business as usual.”

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