Yahoo Finance Grant Thornton hit with legal challenge over collapse of Patisserie Valerie
Grant Thornton has been slapped with a legal claim by the liquidators of Patisserie Valerie for damages during its role as auditor of the cake chain until it collapsed due to suspected fraud.
High Court filings show that FRP Advisory has launched a lawsuit against Grant Thornton as the auditor awaits the findings of a regulatory investigation into its role in the firm’s collapse.
Patisserie Valerie crashed into administration in January last year after the discovery of a £94m black hole in its accounts. Its collapse led to the loss of hundreds of jobs and wiped out hundreds of millions of pounds from shareholders who had invested in the former Aim-listed firm.
FRP Advisory is said to have commissioned its own report into Grant Thornton's audit of Patisserie Valerie's accounts.
FRP hired law firm Mishcon de Reya earlier this year to explore legal proceedings against the auditor.
Grant Thornton said it had not yet been served the claim but pledged to “rigorously defend the claim” once it had been received.
A spokesperson for the Joint Liquidators said: "We can confirm that the joint liquidators of companies within the Patisserie Valerie Group have issued a claim for damages against Grant Thornton in respect of their audits of the group companies' financial statements for the financial periods 30 September 2014 to September 2017 inclusive."
