Patisserie Valerie, the troubled cafe chain which almost collapsed this week, reportedly had secret overdrafts of £10 million.
Credit facilities were set up with Barclays and HSBC, and £9.7m had been used by the time they were discovered last week, chairman Luke Johnson reportedly told The Sunday Times.
It was announced on Friday that he had injected £20 million of his own money into the company in an attempt to save the chain, which employs around 2,800 people.
The companys future was thrown into question earlier this week after it uncovered suspected fraudulent activity around its financial accounts.
It was served a wind-up order by the taxman over £1.14 million owed to HM Revenue & Customs.
Mr Johnson described the discovery as a bombshell and said he had no inkling this was going to happen.
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Ive never had an experience like this in my career and I hope never to repeat it. Its certainly been the most harrowing week of my life, he told the newspaper.
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Mr Johnson said he felt as though he was in a nightmare that Id wake up from but that he felt a moral obligation to preserve the company.
He added: We have, I would argue, preserved a lot of jobs and a good business.
When companies go into administration, theres massive value destruction. Preserving a company, keeping it whole, matters.
Another £15 million was raised through the issue of new shares.
Directors said that initial investigation showed that historical statements on the cash position of the company were misstated and subject to fraudulent activity and accounting irregularities.
The groups finance director Chris Marsh, who was suspended from his role earlier this week, has since been arrested on suspicion of fraud, but was later released.
The Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation.
Patisserie Holdings, which owns additional brands such as Druckers, Philpotts and Baker & Spice, trades from more than 200 stores and also has a partnership with Sainsburys, with branded counters present in the supermarket.
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