Credit facilities were set up with Barclays and HSBC and £9.7million had been used by the time they were discovered last week, chairman Luke Johnson has revealed.
He called the discovery a bombshell and said he had “no inkling this was going to happen”. Mr Johnson told The Sunday Times: “I’ve never had an experience like this in my career and I hope never to repeat it.
“It’s certainly been the most harrowing week of my life.”
The chain’s future was thrown into doubt last week after it uncovered fraudulent activity and was served with a winding up order over £1.14million owed to the taxman.
Mr Johnson pledged up to £20million in new loans on Friday to avert a collapse and save about 2,800 jobs.
Another £15million was raised through the issue of new shares.
He said he felt he was “in a nightmare” but that he felt a moral obligation to save the business.
The Serious Fraud Office is investigating. Finance director Chris Marsh was arrested but later released.
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