Patisserie Valerie to shut nine cafes amid ‘unprecedented challenges’

By Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor

Patisserie Valerie is to shut nine cafes that have not recovered “as well as expected” following the pandemic.

The coffee and pastries business, which is backed by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital, said it has “faced a period of unprecedented challenges in recent times”.

It said it will now shut nine patisseries following a review of its store estate.

Patisserie Valerie said it will shut its Belfast Donegal Square, Belfast Castle Lane, Belfast Forestside, Victoria Station London, Windsor, Dundee, Glasgow Central, Eastbourne and Exeter sites.

“We have decided to close nine patisseries as we now do not feel they will recover sufficiently” amid further cost pressures, the company said.

The group added that its VP Retail Limited subsidiary will cease to trade following the closures.

Patisserie Valerie is being advised over the process by accountancy firm James Cowper Kreston and it stressed that the closures will not impact the rest of its operations.

Chief executive James Fleming said: “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.”

The company would not comment on the potential impact of the closures to jobs at the sites.

It comes a day after BrewDog said it would shut six pubs due to “spiralling” energy costs, which have made some venues financial unviable.