Luke Johnson considering legal action against Patisserie Valerie auditors
Patisserie Valerie’s chairman Luke Johnson has confirmed that he is supportive of potential legal action against Grant Thornton. It comes after the auditor was fined £21m for negligence in the performance of its audit of fire and rescue services firm Assetco (AIM: ASTO). The news brings hope to the creditors of Patisserie Valerie, which went into administration in January after failing to reach a rescue deal with its lenders.
Mr Johnson told us that the Assetco case has “possible relevance for a claim against them [Grant Thornton] as Patisserie Holdings’ auditors” and confirmed that he would be pushing administrators to instigate similar action. Grant Thornton is currently under investigation for failing to spot a £40m ‘black hole’ in Patisserie Holdings’ accounts and has faced backlash after its chief executive David Dunckley told a House of Commons committee that his firm did not look for fraud when carrying out audits. The cake and coffee company, which had reported almost £30m of net cash in March last year is now expected to be…