Patisserie Valerie to close its three Belfast cafes

Patisserie Valerie is set to close its three Belfast cafes after a “period of unprecedented challenges”.

Cafes at Donegall Square, Castle Lane and Forestside will are to close , with the bakery chainsaying its pandemic recovery had not gone “as well as we expected”.

Branches at Victoria Station, Windsor, Dundee, Glasgow Central, Eastbourne and Exeter are all also set to close.

CEO 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.”

After the store closures, the group’s VP Retail subsidiary will cease to trade.

Despite the closures, Patisserie Valerie said its wider business “continues to grow”, particularly via its online cake delivery service and national wholesale partnership with Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

Patisserie Valerie was bought out of administration by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital Partners in 2019.

The bakery firm 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.

In 2020, Patisserie Valerie and Bakers + Baristas merged, though they still continue to operate under their respective brands.