Patisserie Holdings plc is a leading UK branded café and casual dining group offering cakes, pastries, snacks, meals and hot and cold drinks from 138 stores and Flour Power City Bakery in the UK.

It currently operates under five differentiated brands – Patisserie Valerie, Druckers – Vienna Patisserie, Philpotts, Baker & Spice and Flour Power City, offering broad customer appeal, flexibility and outstanding roll-out potential.

The Company operates a vertically integrated business model, with all products made in-house at seven bakeries and delivered fresh daily. Products are sold primarily through stores and also a growing online channel.

The Group's executive management team, led by Luke Johnson (Executive Chairman), Paul May (Chief Executive Officer) and Chris Marsh (Finance Director), has overseen a period of consistent growth from eight stores in 2006 to more than 130 today. The first Patisserie Valerie café was opened on Frith Street in London’s Soho district in 1926 by Belgian-born Madame Valerie, whose vision was to introduce continental patisserie products to the UK. During the Second World War, the Frith Street premises were destroyed by bombing and Madame Valerie subsequently re-established a new Patisserie Valerie café nearby on Old Compton Street, where her legacy continues to this day.

Risk Capital Partners, the London-based private equity firm, co-founded in 2001 by Luke Johnson and Ben Redmond, backed the acquisition of Patisserie Valerie in 2006. At the time it had eight sites in Central London. The company subsequently acquired Druckers - Vienna Patisserie in 2007, Baker & Spice in 2009, Flour Power City Bakery in 2013 and Philpotts in 2014.

(CAKE:AIM)

http://investors.patisserieholdings.co.uk/

Patisserie Valerie is nowhere near the class act it used to be, but then i have a low opinion of Domino's Pizzas as well, but i hold those

Patisserie Holdings wins IPO of the Year Award 2015

Patisserie Holdings have been named IPO of the Year at the Grant Thornton Quoted Company Awards 2015. This award ceremony, which is now in its 11th year, has become a must-attend event for high-achieving listed companies quoted below the FTSE 350 through to AIM and ISDX.

Patisserie Holdings took home the award for IPO of the Year at the award ceremony at The Natural History Museum in London.

All companies nominated in the category were judged by a panel of specialists on the amount of money raised, the costs of float, timing, sector and the type of company floated, the judges also looked at the valuation of the company as well as performance since float.

Paul May, CEO, remarks on the win “This is a great achievement for Patisserie Holdings and we are delighted to have won this prestigious award. We’ve worked extremely hard to make this business a success, and will continue to do so.”

Patisserie Holdings is the UK's largest patisserie cafe chain with over 150 sites nationwide. The company operates five brands - Patisserie Valerie, Druckers Vienna Patisserie, Baker & Spice, Flower Power City Bakery and Philpotts.

Preliminary Results 26 November 2014

Financial highlights

· Continued strong growth in revenue (£76.6m), up 27.5%, and adjusted EBITDA (£15.3m), up 27.2%

· Significant growth in adjusted pre-tax profit (£11.3m), up 37.0%

· Strong balance sheet maintained with all long-term debt repaid during the year

· Operations remain strongly cash generative. Underlying operating cash inflows of £11.7m (pre-exceptional items), up 11.4%

· 100% increase in online sales to £2.6m (2013: £1.3m)

· Average store payback period of 23 months ahead of 24 month target



Operational highlights

· 19 new stores opened in the year (2013:19)

· Acquisition of Philpotts (Holdings) Limited in February 2014 which added 23 stores to the Group

· 148 stores at end of year (2013:108) made up of new openings and Philpott's acquisition

· Continued Group expansion - First motorway service station and retail park stores opened; and our first store in Wales

· 20 new stores targeted for 2015




http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4930224

25 Feb Canaccord... 280.00 Hold

1 Apr Cantor... 350.00 Buy

15 May Canaccord... 280.00 Hold

Half yearly report

Patisserie Holdings serves up tasty first half numbers

By Andrew Neil

May 20 2015, 11:50am
Shares in Patisserie Holdings have risen 47% in the past 12 months.
Shares in Patisserie Holdings have risen 47% in the past 12 months.


Shares in café and cake chain Patisserie Holdings (LON:CAKE) headed higher after the firm reported rising revenue and profit in its first half.

The owner of Patisserie Valerie, Baker & Spice and Philpotts, said pre-tax profits soared 45% to £7mln in the six months to 31 March.

New stores, winter menus and afternoon tea helped drive the figures, with total revenues climbing 22% to £44mln.

Takings from its 106 Patisserie Valerie outlets totalled £29mln, up 18.8% on last year’s first half. Voucher deals sold well, the firm added.

“Sales across all of the different formats in the group continue to perform well and our brand awareness continues to grow,” said executive chairman Luke Johnson.

“The group is well placed for a successful second half of the year and beyond."

Management reaffirmed their intention to offer a maiden dividend to be paid at the end of financial year ending 30 September 2015.

Johnson said he was confident that Patisserie would deliver another set of positive results in line with the board's expectations at the year end.

Shares have risen 47% in the past 12 months and added 12p today to reach 292p.

Upgraded from hold - 20 May Canaccord... 330.00 Buy

terrific results
confess to being a total muppet as back in january i declined to buy because i wasn't keen on the product, and at the same time admitted to holding DOM, which is assuredly crap :-)

Patisserie Holdings sell like hot cakes

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/249693/insider%3A-patisserie-holdings-alliance-pharma

Patisserie Holdings PLC, the leading UK branded café and casual dining group, will be announcing its full year results for the 12 months ended 30 September 2015 on Friday 27 November 2015.

Results in the morning, should keep up the strong momentum of the first half.

Proactive investor - Patisserie Holdings (LON:CAKE), which only listed in May 2014, is one of those new fangled companies with a ticker-symbol – CAKE – that is more representative of its business than its name.

Full-year results are expected to see the café chain reveal a healthy increase in pre-tax profits of around £14.45mln from £10.41mln the year before, if the two brokers covering the stock are any judge.

Revenue is seen rising to £96.4mln from £76.6mln, and, as previously announced, the company plans to announce a maiden dividend, which brokers expect to be in the region of 3.15p.

14p (notional) spread at the moment!!"

RESULTS
Financial highlights
· Continued strong growth in revenue up 20.0% to £91.9m (2014: £76.6m)
· Gross profit of £71.0m up by 19.7% (2014: £59.3)
· Adjusted EBITDA of £18.8m up 22.9% (2014: £15.3m)
· Significant growth in adjusted pre-tax profit to £14.6m up 29.2% (2014: £11.3m)
· Underlying operating cash inflows of £18.3m, up 118% with net cash of £6.1m at the year end
· Online sales up 20% to £3.1m (2014: £2.6m)
· Average store payback period of 23 months ahead, of 24 month target
· Maiden final dividend of 1.67 pence per share proposed

Operational highlights
· Successful launch of "create-a-cake" and afternoon tea which generated revenue of £0.8m and £1.2m respectively
· 26 new stores opened in the last 14 months since the last reporting date all funded from operating cash flows
· 166 stores at end of year (2014:148)
· Continued Group expansion - First designer outlet store, second motorway service station and further rollout across highstreets and shopping centres
· Philpotts now fully integrated into the Group and now benefitting from the Group's purchasing power
· 20 new stores targeted for financial year 2016. Including a first store in Belfast and the rollout of the Baker and Spice brand

Luke Johnson, Executive Chairman, said
"We are pleased to announce another record year for the Group where we have delivered excellent financial results. We strengthened our team following our IPO on AIM and have seen the benefits this year with new ideas and products enhancing our brands' reach. We are well positioned for future organic growth and acquisitions and I am particularly pleased to be able to announce our maiden dividend. Our pipeline for new stores is strong and I am confident of another successful year ahead."

From my thread: Company results

CAKE

Another of those highly rated stocks, than when results come out and the growth is less than 10%, share price is decimated. At yesterday's price of 340p the share were on a PE of 30, that tells you all, as the dividend paid is much lower than expected also.

note: Basic earnings per share 11.41p ( 2014: 10.41p )

or just a case of a thinly traded stock and profit-taking after the news .... scarcely a rarity

the converse is of course FEVR which looks to be defying the odds and has done so consistently for months .... and of course my pet hate stock ASC which though barely 45% of its all-time high, has been steady to strong for a while now, having recovered from its september low of about 2500 to 3250

27 Nov Peel Hunt 362.00 Add
27 Nov Cantor... 385.00 Buy
27 Nov Canaccord... 345.00 Hold

Correct cynic, according to Shares the sp fall was down to profit taking. Just over 2% down at the end.

it's a stock that i'm trying to love but have failed so far but shall continue to monitor

On Tuesday, Patisserie Holdings PLC (CAKE:LSE) closed at 348.50, 1.83 % below its 52-week high of 355.00, set on Oct 27, 2015.

Patisserie Holdings PLC (CAKE:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 370.00. Over this period, the share price is up 80.45%.

Patisserie Holdings PLC (CAKE:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading.

SP Well above last broker price and well up with events . I'm out.

Peel Hunt note today:
"The shares have put in a stellar performance (+20%) since the full year results in November. At the time we moved to Add from Hold but the share price has now overshot our target price by some distance. We remain positive on management and the longterm prospects for the business. However, at 31x September 2016 earnings the short to medium-term multiple looks a little full. Therefore, we move back to a Hold and wouldn’t discourage some top slicing at this level.
A growing appreciation: In its relatively short life as a quoted company, Patisserie Holdings has managed to under promise and over deliver – something management deserve credit for. This, and a growing appreciation/awareness of the business, has helped to drive a significant rerating of the shares. However, the recent strong share price performance leaves the shares looking a little over valued in the short-term.
Valuation: A prospective PE of c31x to September 2016, falling to 27x in 2017, looks full for a business forecast to achieve 19% and 13% EPS growth respectively. Whilst Patisserie has a track record of over delivery, it is not by such magnitude that our numbers are likely to be materially beaten.
Long-term positive: It is possible that management may well use the multiple and strong balance sheet (net cash £14m FY16E) to acquire and further boost earnings. In addition, we remain confident in our forecasts and expect management to be able to deliver in FY16. Our base case model assumes 2% LFL growth and a disciplined rollout of c20 Patisserie Valerie stores per annum achieving c20% growth in the current financial year. We continue to be positive on the business over the long-term and merely see the shares pausing for breath after such a strong run."

Up today off all days over 3.5% . Not a holder.

and it was down to 410 at start of day

Nice recovery underway.

08:50 12/08/2016
Broker Forecast - finnCap issues a broker note on Patisserie Holdings Plc

finnCap today upgrades its investment rating on Patisserie Holdings Plc (LON:CAKE) to buy (from hold) and left its price target at 350p. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Proactive investor - Patisserie Holdings PLC (LON:CAKE), up 6.8%. Old Mutual’s stake has fallen below 5% to 4.91%.

10:50 19/07/2017
Broker Forecast - Berenberg issues a broker note on Patisserie Holdings Plc
Berenberg today initiates coverage of Patisserie Holdings Plc (LON:CAKE) with a buy investment rating and price target of 400p. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Nice gains here and pleased to see my local branch always full at the weekends. Lots more growth to come.

Not good for the teeth, although lovely cakes. :-))

25 Jul
finnCap
360.00
Buy

25 Oct
Peel Hunt
425.00
Add

Preliminary results ending 30 Sept 17

Financial highlights
·      Revenue up 9.7% to £114.2m (2016: £104.1m)
o  Online sales up 26% to £4.8m (2016: £3.8m)
·      Gross profit of £89.3m up by 9.8% (2016: £81.3m)
o  Gross margin of 78.2% (2016: 78.1%)
·      EBITDA of £25.6m up 15.7% (2016: £22.2m)
·      Excellent growth in pre-tax profit to £20.2m up 17.1% (2016: £17.2m)
·      Diluted earnings per share of 16.20 pence up 19.1% (2016: 13.60 pence per share)
·      Net cash at year end of £21.5m (2016: £13.3m) with operating cash inflows of £24.4m (2016: £22.0m)
·      Average store payback period of 23 months (ahead of our 24 month target)
·      Final dividend of 2.40 pence per share proposed up 20.0% (2016: 2.00 pence per share)
 
Operational highlights
·      Successfully opened 20 stores in the year including stores in 12 new geographical locations
o  Expansion outside of England continues with two stores opened in Republic of Ireland, a second store opened in Northern Ireland and two new stores in Scotland
o  First store opened under the Philpotts brand
o  All new stores profitable from first day of trading and funded from operating cash flows
·      Trading from 199 stores at end of year (2016:184)
·      20 new stores targeted for 2018 with four opened since the financial year end
·      Entered into a supply only agreement with Sainsbury's during the year, trading from 18 Sainsbury's counters by the year end
·      Costs tightly controlled with inflationary wage and ingredient cost pressures mitigated in the year

28 Nov
Berenberg
400.00
Buy
27 Nov
Peel Hunt
425.00
Add
27 Nov
finnCap
360.00
Buy

Broker Forecast - Peel Hunt issues a broker note on Patisserie Holdings Plc
Peel Hunt today upgrades its investment rating on Patisserie Holdings Plc (LON:CAKE) to buy (from add) and raised its price target to 450p (from 425p). Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

15 Feb
Berenberg
400.00
Buy

28 Mar
Peel Hunt
450.00
Buy

11:20 18/05/2018
Broker Forecast - Berenberg issues a broker note on Patisserie Holdings Plc
Berenberg today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Patisserie Holdings Plc (LON:CAKE) and raised its price target to 460p (from 400p). Story provided by StockMarketWire.com Broker Forecasts data provided by www.sharesmagazine.co.uk

Wow hows that for a kick in the teeth , suspended , money gone missing CFO gone , you just can't believe it sometimes .

Shares suspended alert! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45805647

Sounds serious!

Didn't rate this co after visiting one of their establishments in York, I did have a better experience in Exeter but not enough to warrant investing in them.

Another one bits the dust.

Terrible joke but looks like someone had their cake and ate it , though looks like they'll pay for it .

I mean...this is just about selling cakes I presume with 150 outlets....market cap : £460 million...and I bet the outlets are not freeholds....that's why I never jumped in here....been caught out by other duds ...have to say....sorry for those in this because it's supposed to be blue chippish this one.....ouch !.....might come back...several pounds less....I wish we had more updates on these stockmarket frauds.....seems to me criminals go unpunished.....

Fast cake.. its Scone.

Well this company is based on what looks like from pictures I have seen : a French boulangerie/patisserie style...with tastes for the British market because northern Europeans like their deserts to be more a lot more can I call it stodgy…….with extra cream all over....not really for me....but there you go....looking at that...no way the hefty market cap as it is....and now...a fraud....crumbs...it might not come back at all....another case of the directors releasing rns's from a deck chair in the windward islands or such....

pat val is actually very good

anyway, report out that company may have to go into admin

RNS further trading update .

saying what????

you lazy bugger ......

Without an immediate injection of capital, the Directors are of the view that that is no scope for the business to continue trading in its current form.

As a consequence, the Directors and the Company's professional advisers are assessing all options available to the business to keep it trading and will update the market in due course.

lol

Lazy bugger my arse , it was to bring it to attention , but nobody seemed interested , i've other things to do as well .

it takes less than half a minute to c+p
if that isn't being lazy, what is?

I agree lazy :-))

i have concluded he was too engaged massaging his prostate :-)

There I was thinking you were talking about yourself ----- too idle to go look for the RNS

They rent floor space in Debenhams, or did. Going to leave a hole for them.

It was basically...way overvalued £460 million quid....just crazy...probably no freeholds...just a good turn over....but ….spare a thought for the guy that owns 37 % of that company and discovers bankruptcy with fraud....you are looking at a straight £200 million pound loss....ok....with the administrator he will get something back...something.....it is time in the UK that there is more check on these blinkin' companies that are stockmarket darlings one day and then all the funds have disappeared to some south pacific island bank with no trace and nobody knows anything....and the directors were lying all the time about the actual financial state of the company....we've seen this too many times now !....

i think you are unkind
luke johnson who owns 37% cannot have known, and as far as i understand it, everyone is mystified as to how all this came about under the radar

is this yet another case of leading auditors being led by the nose and then denying any culpability at all?

RNS---------CFO arrested.

No cynic I will not post it, look it up yourself, lazy git. ha!ha!

Cake by the Ocean.

For the moment he has saved the company....he had to otherwise he would have ended up with nothing !....but the company has to explain where £28 million has got to and they are 10 million in debt that will be covered by the new capital....you are looking at no more than 100p when the stock comes back on the markets !....

at least the guy stuck his hand deep in his own pocket, unlike some like jamie oliver

StockMarketWire.com
Patisserie Holdings said Monday it would raise £15m through the placing of shares after a probe into the company's financial irregularities revealed the need for an 'immediate cash injection' of no less than £20m to keep the company in business.

The company proposed to raise approximately £15m through the issue of approximately 30m new at a price of 50p a share.

The company also expected to enter into a new £10m loan agreement with CEO Luke Johnson later on Monday. Johnson would also commit a further bridging loan facility of up to £10m to provide the company with the ability to fund immediate outstanding liabilities, the company said.

The net proceeds of the placing and funds would be used to fund the group's immediate outstanding liabilities, including amounts owed to HM Revenue & Customs, trade creditors, general working capital purposes and committed capital expenditure, Patisserie said.

The company estimated based on the current run rate information available that full-year annual revenue and earnings (EBITDA), before exceptional one off costs could be approximately £120m and £12m, respectively.

The Directors emphasised, however, that the amounts were based on the 'limited' work performed to date, and could not be verified until there had been further work conducted including the re-audit of the company's financial statements and the preparation of the 30 Sept. year end audit.

'At this stage, the Directors cannot predict the outcome of those investigations with any degree of certainty,' the company said.

The company's shares would remain suspended from trading.

Er, maybe with 37% invested Luke should be looking a tad closer at his investments.... AND why doesn't he need to make a bid at that % -?.... I thought 30% was the threshold... maybe not if this outlet on AIM - is it? But I would expect this to me main market, at such valuations....
The new shares may stuff existing shareholders . . .

Its AIM.

Leading investors in Patisserie Valerie want Luke Johnson, chairman of the troubled café chain, to give up control of an internal investigation into a £40 million 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 Mr 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. - The Times

StockMarketWire.com
Embattled cake retailer Patisserie Holdings confirmed had survived an attempt by HMRC to wind up the company.

A winding up petition against principal trading subsidiary Stonebeach was dismissed by the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts, the company confirmed.

Patisserie also said it was seeking to understand why the grant of options to executives relating to 2015 and 2016 havd not been appropriately disclosed and accounted for in its financial statements.

The company has been pushed to the brink of insolvency by possible fraud that it is currently investigating. It has suspended finance director Chris Marsh who was recently arrested by police and released without bail.

What a mess this is turning out to be.

It certainly doesn't look very appetising.

Talk of a buy-out in the Times.

Times article refuted as follows:
"DAVID SCOTT RESPONDS TO MEDIA REPORTS REGARDING PATISSERIE VALERIE

Following recent media reports, David Scott, former shareholder and chief executive of Druckers, is keen to highlight that he has no intention to make an offer or otherwise acquire shares in Patisserie Valerie, the company that bought Druckers in 2007.

Commenting, David Scott said; "Despite the media reports, I have not appointed nor do I intend to appoint a company to liaise with shareholders on my behalf and I have no interest in making an offer for or acquiring shares in Patisserie Valerie or any related companies."

What a disgrace this is turning out to be - end of the road could be close. On the face of it a straightforward, easy to understand business with a large and highly regarded main shareholder, debt free, growing, profitable and cash generative. Ticked a lot of boxes for me, but thank God for scuttlebutt. A visit to their fairly unimpressive outlet in High Wycombe kept me out, a very dodgy bullet missed!

high wycombe doesn't have anything to commend it in the first place!

Traffic nightmare, but the home of Ercol - although I guess your stuff is all from Henredon!

Patisserie Valerie goes into administration
Patisserie Holdings, the parent company of cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, has crashed into administration after several days of failed last-ditch talks with its banks.

The decision was a “direct result of the significant fraud”, the company said, which was first revealed in October last year.

Right bloody fraud this company....there must be some pretty pissed off investors out there....feel sorry for them....

Prison for the directors and no parole.

Who were the auditors ?

Some AAT students ?

Same people who were auditing CLLN probably!

Grant Thornton

Also down to the banks , HSBC and Barclays who MUST monitor current accounts.

Lol Harry

Cheers dc , know a few people there I'll see if I can find out what there excuse is next week.

How on earth under current regs can you audit a company? impossible

Cheers Dil

I see GT collected in 2017 a fee of £120,000

I text my daughter who works for GT and she said 'sod off I wondered how long it would be before u took the piss and before you ask no I had nothing to do with it'.

Geez , I was only asking like :-)

Spoke to someone else most of which I can't repeat but was not specifically related to these and his best comment was that their worst auditor got a box of FUDGE in this years secret Santa.

It's not just GT , I know of a listed company who had a subsidiary that should have had its accounts qualified one year but weren't because the auditors didn't want to lose the contract. That was one of the big four who signed those off.

Problem is that the interest of the auditor and company are too much aligned.

Dil ,is your daughter in the Cambridge office. :-))

Nah , why ?

What dodgy companies are in Cambridge ?

The Cambridge branch of GT were responsible for the audit .

Omg ... can't wait to ask her about that dc :-)

It seems to me that any suggestion to wield an Axe on Auditors is quickly forgotten.... What shareholders should insist, is that Auditor-fees are reclaimable for a period of 5-years - if the sp balanced against similar businesses* - falls 10% the Auditors lose 10% - if the sp falls to zippo then their fees are 100% reclaimed..... I have an annual report from [DEB] Debenhams and I'm finding it difficult to find where PwC are suggesting anything that a new investor might want to know about the future prospects of the Company......
Perhaps the same "Rule" could apply to Director Bonuses - except the tipping-point is the face-value of the stock.... so, if it falls below this any Bonus is wiped out from 5-years ago. By seeing how-long Directors stay in their post, we might judge if we should leave also.
I have no investment in the [CAKE] business....but am suspicious when any business thinks they are very clever to have a "nice" EPIC. I don't include the likes of BP[BP.] or Rio Tinto[RIO], since this is in their name anyway.
* The Q. of which businesses are included may be difficult for some stocks.... but it's not rocket science . . and some FTSE-Weighting might be applied so these rules aren't corrupted when the "...tide comes in".

This fraud might have serious implications for other companies as the main investor stands to lose an absolute fortune : he therefore might want to offset losses against profits from the sale of another investment in another company ; therefore that could be disastrous for that firm.....it's a possibility...not definite...the ball keeps rolling with a knock-on effect : didn't the crash of 1929 start with something like that ?….the modern world could suffer a similar fate.....aren't I joyful ?....may I recall that a pessimist is an informed optimist....euhhh sorry I think I've put that on before....nevermind...it's always good to remind people........

from today's FT ....
Patisserie Valerie report talks of fake invoices and ledgers
The suspected £40m fraud at Patisserie Valerie that led to the café chain’s demise this week involved finance staff and a supplier enlisted to provide fake invoices, according to a report by PwC commissioned by the company’s board.

Hangon , are you suggesting too that Auditors receive twice their fee if the share price doubles ?

And what would you like them to predict about future prospects ?

No one would get audited in a crash.

The EU doesn't get audited and that's going to crash

You are using the wrong thread old fruit.

I heard they had bank accounts that weren't shown to auditors. Probably with massive credit lines that had been used.

That's why the banks pulled the plug. Maybe they were secured on the assets.

I doubt there are any assets. Shops which they rent selling cakes which have a shelf life of a few days.

Maybe they have some cake manufacturing machines but there value will be almost zero in a liquidation. That's if they made the cakes themselves.

What's the value of a few second hand coffee makers? again not very much.

Patisserie Valerie sales were in secret decline for at least three years before the discovery of the accounting black hole that triggered its collapse, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. Documents containing the stricken cafe chain's finances show revenues from "un-loved" established stores were falling even as the management team under executive chairman Luke Johnson pursued an "ambitious roll-out plan".

Mike Ashley's Sports Direct has pulled out of a bid for collapsed café chain Patisserie Valerie after just two days, accusing its administrators of not providing enough access to its finances. Chris Wootton, the company's deputy finance chief, wrote to the KPMG partner handling the administration yesterday to say it was withdrawing a bid of more than £15m after failing to gain "access to a data room, any financial information or meetings with management".