Causeway Capital to merge Patisserie Valerie and Bakers + Baristas

Causeway Capital has announced it is merging its Patisserie Valerie and Bakers + Baristas businesses, creating a pâtisserie and coffee group with more than 125 locations throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Both brands will continue operating and retain their existing distinctive in-store offerings. The merged group will be led by James Fleming, who is currently chief executive of Bakers + Baristas and was previously chief executive of Euphorium Bakery and UK chief executive of bakery chain Paul.

Matt Scaife, partner at Causeway Capital, said: “We are really pleased to announce the merger of our coffee and patisserie investments. We want to thank Paolo and José for their hard work and leadership in delivering the Patisserie Valerie turnaround programme over the last 12 months. We look forward to continuing supporting the development of these two distinctive brands and the continued growth of the group.”

Fleming said: “This merger represents a fantastic opportunity to establish a high quality, branded coffee and patisserie business with a presence throughout the UK and Ireland. I am really excited to be leading the team and believe there are significant opportunities to leverage shared resources across the business to deliver best-in-class customer experience for both brands instore and online.”

Patisserie Valerie was sold to the Ireland-based company last year after the group fell into administration, following the discovery of "significant and potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities" in October 2018 and rescue talks with banks failed.

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