The accountancy watchdog has opened an investigation into Grant Thornton’s audit of crisis-stricken bakery chain Patisserie Valerie and its former chief financial officer as the regulator applies its recently beefed-up inspection programme.

The Financial Reporting Council said, in a statement published on November 21, that it would review the company’s financial statements for 2015, 2016 and 2017 under its strengthened Audit Enforcement Procedures, launched in October.