Eggfree Cake Box co-founder Pardip Dass steps down

THE British Asian co-founder of Eggfree Cake Box is stepping down as the firm's finance chief, The Times reported. 

Pardip Dass is leaving the firm weeks after admitting that Cake Box's full-year accounts contained a number of 'inconsistencies' and 'transcription errors', the report added.

He said that he was leaving at the end of the month to “pursue other interests”.

Dass started the egg-free cake business with his cousin Sukh Chamdal 14 years ago. He and Chamdal, 60, Cake Box’s chief executive, opened their first store in 2008 in east London. Currently, there are 174 shops around the country.

According to the report, David Forth, 68, a veteran stand-in finance chief, will take over Dass’s responsibilities on an interim basis.

Forth has taken on similar temporary roles at AB Sugar, Wincanton, the logistics group, and Dr Martens in recent years.

“I am extremely proud of what we have achieved at Cake Box, from first beginning to franchise the business model, to listing the business on Aim,” Dass, 50, was quoted as saying by The Times. “After a decade with the business, now is the right time to move on following an orderly handover to David.”

He said that he remained a “supportive shareholder” and he was thanked by Neil Sachdev, the group’s chairman, for his “immense contribution” to the business.

The shares have doubled in value since the company was floated on Aim, London’s junior stock market, in the summer of 2018. However, they are down by more than a third this year after a blogger picked apart its annual accounts, the newspaper report added.

Cake Box acknowledged the errors in a stock exchange announcement and brought in accountants from BDO to help it improve its internal processes. As per the latest estimate, the company is valued at about £90 million.

Richard Zivkovic, 48, will assume the role of the chief operating officer in the company from June. Last November, the company said it was looking to bolster its executive team.