Patisserie Valerie chair hires former SFO investigator as his lawyer

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/16/patisserie-valerie-chair-hires-former-sfo-investigator-as-his-lawyer

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Luke Johnson, Patisserie Valerie’s executive chairman, is understood to have hired a former top prosecutor at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) amid an investigation into the cafe’ chain’s finances.

Johnson has hired John Gibson, who joined the American law firm Cohen & Gresser in September after serving for five years at the fraud investigator.

The SFO last month opened a criminal investigation into an individual after Patisserie Valerie revealed potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities. The chain was forced to correct its accounts, leaving it nearly £10m in debt instead of having £28m in the bank, as had been reported previously.

The brand’s parent company, Patisserie Holdings, suspended its chief financial officer, Chris Marsh, who was later arrested. The chief executive at the time, Paul May, resigned on Thursday.

Johnson, as Patisserie Valerie’s executive chairman, will probably be questioned by fraud investigators. There is no suggestion that Johnson has done anything wrong.

The prominent investor, who is known for expanding the Pizza Express restaurant chain, has said he will stay in his role in spite of criticisms from other investors. Johnson holds a 37.1% stake in Patisserie Holdings.

Johnson waived his £60,000 salary and pumped £20m in loans into the company as part of a rescue after the accounting errors were discovered. Patisserie Holdings’ shares are currently suspended on London’s junior stock market.

Gibson has an intimate knowledge of the SFO’s processes. He was a former case controller at the SFO, where he oversaw prominent inquiries such as the long-running investigation into ENRC, the controversial mining firm.

Gibson’s practice now focuses on cross-border corporate investigations and white collar defences, after more than 25 years as a barrister, according to Cohen & Gresser’s website.

Patisserie Valerie announced the appointment of Stephen Francis as chief executive on Thursday. The firm hailed Francis as a turnaround specialist who led Tulip, a farmer and pork producer, back to profitability following big losses.