Police arrest five in Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) investigation. Serious Fraud Office says those held have been questioned over alleged fraud at cafe chain. Five people have been arrested and questioned over alleged accounting fraud at Patisserie Valerie, in a dramatic escalation of the investigation into the cafe chain’s financial implosion. According to a statement from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued over the weekend, the arrests took place last Tuesday in a joint operation with Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Metropolitan police services after the discovery of a multimillion-pound gap in the company’s accounts late last year. The SFO did not disclose the names of those arrested or what they had been detained for, although said it was conducting inquiries into the role of individuals in the firm’s slide into administration. The company went bust in January, sparking the loss of 900 jobs when 70 of its almost-200 stores and concessions closed.
Supermarket freezer aisles could soon help power the National Grid (NG.) after trials found that hundreds of thousands of fridges could provide a nationwide “virtual battery”. The trials were undertaken by Tesco (TSCO) along with researchers at the University of Lincoln in a mocked-up supermarket, built to test whether fridges can help to balance the energy system. Researchers found that complex algorithms, developed by the software firm IMS Evolve, can temporarily cut the electricity supply to fridges when needed while still keeping the food cold. These mini power cuts to the freezers could automatically create short pulses of extra electricity on the grid to match any dips in the grid’s energy frequency.The system operator already pays firms that own utility-scale batteries to provide this service but the trial indicates that retailers can also play a role, while at the same time reducing their carbon footprints.
Aston Martin Holdings (AML) chief executive faces vote against £1.2m salary. Andy Palmer’s pay package has drawn criticism amid falling share prices. Andy Palmer has led the company since 2014, but investor scrutiny of his £1.2m salary – before a potential bonus five times larger – has increased as shares have slumped from the price at the carmaker’s much-anticipated stock market flotation. There is little prospect of Aston Martin losing the vote because the majority of shares are owned by Italian private equity firm InvestIndustrial and Kuwaiti investors. However, a symbolic vote against the binding pay policy would add to pressure on the company’s leaders. Aston Martin’s struggles in recent months have come despite making progress on opening a new factory in south Wales to make the DBX, the brand’s first sports utility vehicle in its 106-year history. Palmer is hoping the car, which will retail from £140,000-£160,000, will become Aston Martin’s most popular model, helping to double production.
