According to Helene Vermeirsch, the niece of the founders, Patisserie Valerie was first opened in 1926 on the corner of Dean Street and Old Compton Street in Soho, London by Esther van Gyseghem, born in Ostend, Belgium on 22 April 1900 and her husband Theophile Vermeirsch. There is not known to have been a Valerie in the founders' families, but Esther came to be referred to as Madame Valerie. Theo died in 1947, and Esther ran Patisserie Valerie alone until she retired in 1965. Leni Vermeirsch thinks that her aunt sold the business to an Italian businessman based in Soho. The Soho Clarion magazine said that the Fonteyn family founded Patisserie Valerie; there is some evidence of them in Soho and in the catering business. Patisserie Valerie remained at its original location until it was bombed out during World War II, and reopened in nearby Old Compton Street after Theo and Esther spent a short time in Norfolk. The Scalzo brothers bought it in 1987 from descendants of the founder, and grew the business to nine branches, including shops in Piccadilly and Kensington. Leni Vermeirsch said when Patisserie Valerie was struggling in early 2019 "What ended up being called Patisserie Valerie did not bear any resemblance to the original one".
Expansion
In 2006, Luke Johnson's Risk Capital Partners acquired the Scalzo brothers' controlling stake in the company. At the time of the acquisition, Luke Johnson said: The chain has expanded rapidly since 2006, growing from eight shops in 2006 to 192 as of May 2017. It opened its first shop in the Republic of Ireland in 2017, in Debenhams in Blanchardstown Centre. A selection of their cakes are now available in many Sainsbury's stores, also there is the option to buy online and collect personalised and unstocked items in-store.
Trading in the shares of Patisserie Holdings, the parent company of Patisserie Valerie, were suspended on 10 October 2018 following the discovery of potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities, which had led to the possibility that there had been a material mis-statement of the company’s accounts. It was widely reported in the press that there was a multimillion pound black hole in the company's accounts. Luke Johnson, the company chairman, said: "We are all deeply concerned about this news and the potential impact on the business". On 11 October, the company announced that there was a material shortfall between the reported financial status and the current financial status of the business and that without an immediate injection of capital the directors were of the view that there would be no scope for the business to continue trading in its current form. On 12 October, Hertfordshire police issued a statement saying that: "A 44-year old man from St Albans has been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation. He has been released under investigation." It was widely reported that the individual concerned was Chris Marsh, the firm's finance director. The Serious Fraud Office announced on its website that it had opened an investigation into an individual at the company. Later that day the company announced details of a rescue plan under which it would borrow £20 million from Johnson and place 31,451,100 ordinary shares at 50 pence to raise new capital of approximately £15.7m before payment of expenses. The rescue plan prevented the imminent bankruptcy of the company and subsequent loss of 2500 jobs, but was criticised in The Daily Telegraph as being against the interests of smaller shareholders. On 14 October it was reported that two unauthorised and unreported overdrafts of almost £10 million had been discovered. On 22 January 2019, the firm announced that it had collapsed into administration following failed talks with banks, which the company stated was a "direct result of the significant fraud". The collapse will lead to the immediate closure of 70 of the nearly 200 stores and concessions operated by the group, leading to the loss of around 900 jobs. On 8 February 2019, Sports Direct made an offer of £15 million for the firm but a few days later, the administrator KPMG rejected it saying that it would need to offer up to £2 million more for it.
Management buyout
On 14 February 2019 Patisserie Valerie announced its administrators, KPMG, had concluded an agreement for a management buyout funded by Causeway Capital Partners to acquire the assets and business of the chain from administration for a total of £13m.
