The UK-based café chain said that ‘a handful’ of stores will not sufficiently recover from the pandemic but planned closures will leave the company is a stronger position to navigate a challenging period for hospitality businesses
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Patisserie Valerie said ‘a handful’ of locations will not sufficiently recover from temporary closures in 2020-21 | Photo credit: Patisserie Valerie
UK-based bakery-café Patisserie Valerie has announced the closure of nine stores after a review of its estate identified sites unlikely to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
The company, backed by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital, said that many of its outlets had recovered well from temporary closures in 2020 and 2021 but ‘a handful’ of locations will not sufficiently recover.
Four stores in England, three in Northern Ireland and two in Scotland will close, leaving Patisserie Valerie with a 95-strong footprint across the UK. The majority of outlets in the company’s portfolio are Bakers + Baristas sites following a merger of the two brands in March 2020.
Patisserie Valerie said it remains committed to expansion but expects growth to be driven by its direct to consumer online cake delivery service and nationwide wholesale partnership with supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.
“Whilst closing stores is never an easy decision to take, we are confident this is the right thing to do to ensure the group is in a stronger position to continue investing and delivering the high-quality experience our customers rightly expect in these challenging times,” said James Fleming, CEO, Patisserie Valerie.
In June 2022 the administrators of UK-based Patisserie Valerie have reportedly settled a £200m ($246m) High Court lawsuit with accountancy firm Grant Thornton after allegations of negligence arose in its audits of the UK café chain.