Cake chain Patisserie Valerie has collapsed into administration.

The firm, which has outlets across Scotland, said discussions with its lenders HSBC and Barclays to extend a standstill agreement had come to nothing, leaving it with no option but to appoint KPMG as administrator.

Its parent company Patisserie Holdings has been grappling with the fallout of an accounting fraud.

It said: "Patisserie Holdings plc announces today that, as a direct result of the significant fraud referred to in previous announcements, it has been unable to renew its bank facilities, and therefore regrettably the business does not have sufficient funding to meet its liabilities as they fall due."

Chairman Luke Johnson has extended an unsecured, interest-free loan to help ensure that the January wages are paid to all staff working in the ongoing business, the company said.

The loan will also assist the administrators in trading as many profitable stores as possible while a sale process is undertaken.

The Herald:

Dyson has announced that it is moving its headquarters to Singapore from Wiltshire.

Chief executive Jim Rowan said it was not to do with Brexit or tax and that jobs woul dnot be lost.

Mr Rowan said: "It's to make us future-proof for where we see the biggest opportunities."

He added: "We have seen an acceleration of opportunities to grow the company from a revenue perspective in Asia.

"We have always had a revenue stream there and will be putting up our best efforts as well as keeping an eye on investments.

"We would describe ourselves as a global technology company and in fact we have been a global company for some time. Most successful companies these days are global."

Par Equity, the Edinburgh-based venture capital firm, has closed five investments worth £4.85m in just two days.

The firm was lead investor and partnered with the Scottish Investment Bank on all five deals.

The trades included one new investment and four follow-ons. New to Par Equity’s portfolio is Amiqus, a software company based in Edinburgh that offers an encrypted online tool to automate anti-money laundering and compliance checks.

Clients include HR and recruitment agencies alongside a host of professional services firms.

Paul Munn, Partner at Par Equity said: "Our interest in Amiqus started as clients rather than investors. But there’s nothing like being a customer to see if something helps or not.

"From there, we appreciated that it already had significant commercial traction and a highly competent leadership team, so the investment made complete sense."