A man from Harrow is accused of fraud after the collapse of bakery chain Patisserie Valerie. 

Financial consultant Nilesh Lad, 50, of Tenby Avenue, is one of four people facing fraud charges. 

The other three are Christopher Marsh, a former director and chief financial officer of Patisserie Holdings, the company behind Patisserie Valerie, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh, and Mr Marsh’s former number two, financial controller Pritesh Mistry. 

They will not face trial until March 2026. 

An investigation was launched by the SFO in 2018 into a case which saw the bakery chain, which had 200 stores, tumble into administration with a £94 million hole in its accounts in 2019. 

The four defendants sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, speaking only to confirm their names. 

Christopher Marsh, 49, and Louise Marsh, 55, both from St Albans, Mistry, 41, from Leicester, and Lad, 50, all face charges of conspiracy to defraud. 

Christopher Marsh, Mistry and Lad also face five charges of fraud by false representation and one of making or supplying an article for use in fraud. 

Christopher Marsh also faces a charge of making false representations as a company director. 

None of the defendants were asked to enter any pleas on Tuesday. 

All four were granted conditional bail and ordered not to contact each other, except for Christopher and Louise Marsh, who live together. 

They will appear at the same court on April 26 next year to enter pleas and are scheduled for trial on March 2, 2026.