The financial auditor of former Bargain Booze owners Conviviality is being investigated by the Financial Reporting Council over their role in the company’s last annual results.

An “arithmetic error” overstated the company’s profits by £5m, while another accounting error caused an unexpected £30m tax bill. KPMG, Conviviality’s auditor, had approved the company’s finances without spotting the errors. 

The issues caused the firm’s collapse that wiped out more than £9m of retailer shares held in the business. Dharmesh Shukla, owner of Chaucer Road Bargain Booze, said: “They messed up the accounts and the audit was done wrong, we lost a lot of money. Now we are struggling to get by.”

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