Scandal-hit training company quadruples profits
SCANDAL-HIT welfare-to-work training provider, A4e, which now trades as PeoplePlus, has quadrupled profits, despite being adversely affected by a stronger overall economy.
In the UK, although tackling unemployment remained a “top priority” for the Government according to the business, profits were hit by the economic recovery, with fewer people being referred to their programmes.
The company was set up 25 years ago to help steelworkers that had been made redundant get training to enable them to find new jobs. It was acquired by Staffline in early 2015 for £24.5m.
Revenue dipped to £166m for the year, from £189m, but the Sheffield-based company said that the performance was down to a strong market in Australia, where Job Services Australia contracts the firm to fulfill welfare and skills provisions for the unemployed.
In its latest accounts, for the year to March 2015, pre-tax profits increased from £2.27m to £9.23m.
In a statement, director Phil Ledgard said: “Our code of conduct..sets out our commitment to trustworthiness and transparency. Failure to follow these principles could harm our reputation, damage our brand and affect our operational performance and financial position.” He said that the company had implemented secure customer and information management systems to combat this.
Last year, six A4e employees were jailed for fraudulently claiming £300,000. They made up files, forged signatures and falsely claimed they had helped people find jobs, enabling them to hit targets and gain government bonuses.
The company subsequently changed its name to PeoplePlus.
Emma Harrison, who founded the company in 1991, found herself in the spotlight in 2012 after accepting a dividend payment of £8.6m on top of her £365,000 annual salary, and accepting payments of £1.7m for leasing private properties to her own firm. At the time she was advising the Government on some of its welfare reforms.
She stepped down as A4e chairperson in February 2012, but remained the largest shareholder until the acquisition by Staffline.
