Vulnerable people lose jobs as social enterprise goes bust – TFN

It had been supported by the charity Apex Scotland, which works to prevent people from re-offending

A Scottish social enterprise cleaning firm has gone into liquidation, leading to 28 job losses.

Edinburgh-based All Cleaned Up (ACU) has officially ceased trading and closed with immediate effect.

It employed people who have a history of health problems and addiction and those with experience of the criminal justice system.

The social enterprise had been supported by the charity Apex Scotland, which works to prevent people from re-offending.

However, Apex said ACU had run into financial problems which it could no longer support.

ACU was launched with the idea of using the skills that people learnt in prison to help them in a job outside of jail.

It was funded nationally by both local authorities and criminal justice contracts, and helped people use their skills and operated by taking cleaning contracts for other firms.

ACU general manager Alison Forsyth posted on Facebook: “It is with a heavy heart I announce that All Cleaned Up Scotland – A Social Enterprise is no longer trading.

“Due to circumstances beyond my control 28 people that I care for deeply have been made redundant with no notice.

“I am truly heartbroken that a social enterprise who championed the belief that everyone deserves a chance to change their lives is now not able to support some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who believed in us, supported us and championed us.”

A spokesperson for Apex Scotland said: “Apex Scotland have supported our subsidiary company, All Cleaned Up (Scotland) Ltd (ACU) since its incorporation in 2012.

“The Apex Board has had the financial situation at ACU under close review for over two years.

“During this time the Apex Board gave as much support as we could to try and ensure that it continued trading and providing employment.

“Sadly, ACU continued experiencing serious financial challenges that we are unable to support and ACU became insolvent, meaning it became illegal for ACU to continue trading.

“This left Apex Scotland Board of Trustees with no other option than to move to liquidate ACU.

“A provisional liquidator has now been appointed to manage the process involved in winding up All Cleaned Up (Scotland) Ltd.

“We understand how difficult and upsetting this is for all those were employed by ACU at this challenging time.”