Patisserie Valerie to close nine sites

Patisserie Valerie has confirmed plans to close nine sites which the group said "have not recovered as well as we expected".

In a statement, the business said that although many of its sites had "recovered well" from the pandemic, a review of its estate led to the conclusion that certain locations would not "recover sufficiently".

The sites earmarked for closure include: Belfast Donegal Square, Belfast Castle Lane, Belfast Forestside, Victoria Station, Windsor, Dundee, Glasgow Central, Eastbourne and Exeter.

After the closures, the group's VP Retail subsidiary will cease to trade. Patisserie Valerie is being advised by chartered accountants and James Cowper Kreston. The closures will not affect the wider business, which will continue as usual.

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 first Patisserie Valerie opened in 1926 in London's Soho and now has 30 sites across the UK. The business was bought out of administration by Ireland-based Causeway Capital Partners in 2019.

Photo: Shutterstock / James Copeland