Patisserie Valerie’s new owners defenestrate management team

The two most senior members of the revamped Patisserie Valerie management team have left the business, less than two weeks after securing a deal that rescued the crisis-hit business.

Steve Francis

Chief executive Steve Francis and commercial director Rhys Iley joined in the aftermath of the accounting scandal which was uncovered last October and ultimately resulted in the cafe chain going into administration in January.

However they have now left the business, having been let go by Patisserie Valerie’s new owner, Causeway Capital. The Times is this morning reporting that Francis plans to sue the company following his dismissal.

Causeway had agreed a deal with administrators that saved 96 shops and nearly 2,000 jobs, although 70 stores and 920 jobs had already been cut. Francis and Iley were expecting to invest alongside Causeway as part of the deal.

Francis had joined Birmingham-based Patisserie Valerie as a turnaround specialist after successful stints running Danwood Group and Tulip Foods.

Soon after joining Patisserie Valerie, he recruited Rhys Iley, who had spent six years at Starbucks, rising to be European vice-president of operations.

Interim group finance director Nick Perrin had already left the business after a three-month stint.

Rhys Iley

Patisserie Valerie was a stock market-listed business worth £450m last October, before it revealed huge issues with its finances.

Its shares were suspended – and never reinstated – while the senior management team departed in the following weeks.

A number of investigations into the company’s failure are continuing, focusing on allegations of fraud and the oversight of directors and auditors.

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