Balance Legal Capital is backing a claim against Grant Thornton in relation to its role as auditor of collapsed UK bakery chain Patisserie Valerie.

The group went into administration in 2019 after a multi-million pound fraud was discovered, which subsequently led to the group being unable to renew its banking facilities and unable to meet its liabilities as they came due.

An investigation led liquidators from FRP Advisory to conclude that Grant Thornton was negligent in the preparation of the group’s financial statements between 2014 and 2017. As a result, a £200 million claim was issued against the auditor.

Balance is funding the majority of the costs in relation to the claim. The liquidator and its solicitors have agreed to make 25% of their time costs contingent on a successful outcome of the case.