Luxury chocolate maker Marasu’s Petit Fours has entered administration – it was London’s largest producer of premium chocolates from its huge factory in London
20:16, 24 Mar 2026Updated 12:15, 25 Mar 2026
Chocolate makers have been facing difficult market conditions (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
A major UK chocolate maker which produced 300 tonnes every year form its factory in London has entered administration.
Marasu’s Petit Fours was bought by the Prestat Group in 2006 and has since supplied big brands like Prestat, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods. It was founded in 1986 by patissiers Rolf Kern and Gabi Kohler, with the aim of making premium chocolates.
The company became the capital’s largest producer of fancy chocolates and was pumping out more than 300 tonnes a year from its 25,000 sq ft facilities in Park Royal. However, it has faced difficult market conditions in recent months.
The chocolate industry has struggled with global cocoa prices surging to record highs in 2024 as cocoa crops were hit by disease and extreme weather.
Administrators were appointed to Marasu’s on February 6 with Alessandro Sidoli and Jessica Barker of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited named as joint administrators.
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It followed Prestat also going into administration. Prestat is still operating as an online store. The luxury chocolatier, founded in 1902, shut its historic Piccadilly shop in central London in February.
In recent years, the chocolate industry has struggled with global cocoa prices surging to record highs in 2024 and cocoa crops being hit by disease and extreme weather, including flooding and droughts, in key producing countries such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast, which together account for about 60% of the world’s production.
The closure comes as part of a prepack administration deal that will see Prestat taken over by chocolate maker L’Artisan du Chocolat, which is owned by Polus Capital Management.
The chocolate industry has struggled in recent years (stock)(Image: Katsumi Murouchi via Getty Images)
Prestat held two Royal Warrants and counted the Royal Family, including Princess Diana, among some of its most famous customers. In 2003, The Economist magazine even named it as one of the top three chocolate shops in the world.
The Piccadilly shop inspired Roald Dahl, who referenced Prestat’s truffles in his novel My Uncle Oswald.
The store, which was one of the few to continue making its own chocolates, is also said to have inspired the fantastical sweet shop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.