A prominent British chocolate manufacturer, which produced 300 tonnes annually from its London factory, has collapsed into administration.
Marasu’s Petit Fours was acquired by the Prestat Group in 2006 and has since supplied prestigious brands including Prestat, Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. It was established in 1986 by patissiers Rolf Kern and Gabi Kohler, with the ambition of crafting premium chocolates.
The firm became the capital’s foremost producer of luxury chocolates, churning out more than 300 tonnes annually from its 25,000 sq ft premises in Park Royal. Nevertheless, it has encountered increasingly challenging market conditions in recent months.
Prestat held two Royal Warrants and counted the Royal Family, including Princess Diana, amongst its most celebrated clientele. In 2003, The Economist magazine even ranked it as one of the top three chocolate shops in the world.
Administrators were appointed to Marasu’s on February 6, with Alessandro Sidoli and Jessica Barker of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited named as joint administrators. It followed Prestat also falling into administration, though the brand continues to trade as an online store. The luxury chocolatier, founded in 1902, closed its historic Piccadilly shop in central London in February.
The chocolate industry has been battered by global cocoa prices soaring to record highs in 2024, as cocoa crops were devastated by disease and extreme weather, including flooding and droughts, in key producing nations such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
These two countries together account for approximately 60% of the world’s cocoa production, making the impact of such conditions particularly severe for manufacturers across the industry.
The closure forms part of a prepack administration agreement that will result in Prestat being acquired by chocolate manufacturer L’Artisan du Chocolat, which is owned by Polus Capital Management.piration for Roald Dahl, who referenced Prestat’s truffles in his novel My Uncle Oswald.
The shop, which was amongst the few still producing its own chocolates, is also believed to have inspired the fantastical sweet shop featured in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.