Leading investors in Patisserie Valerie want Luke Johnson, chairman of the troubled café chain, to give up control of an internal investigation into a £40m hole in its accounts over concerns that the review is not sufficiently independent.
Invesco, a top ten shareholder in the Aim-listed company, has told Johnson and the board of Patisserie Holdings, the parent company, to hand over the investigation to a law firm or an independent investigation firm during talks last week, according to people familiar with the matter.
Invesco has also approached the Investor Forum, an influential group that brokers meetings between large shareholders and company executives, about its worries and could explore legal action to force the board to cede control of the investigation.
