Empathetic business wind-down

In 2018-19, we were engaged by one of the UK’s largest education groups to assess the performance and sustainability of two closely integrated subsidiary businesses which had a combined turnover of around £20m, >400 staff, >900 clients and >5k students.  

Having recommended that the two businesses should be closed, we were further engaged to oversee all aspects of a managed wind-down process that would enable students to complete their programmes unaffected by the closure.

In the first instance, we conducted a comprehensive review of the two businesses’ strategies, propositions, products, operating models, performance and outlook. To do that, we conducted extensive discussions with senior and operational colleagues in and around the two businesses; gathered and reviewed a wide range of sales, product, performance and compliance documents; and carefully considered the market and competitor landscape – including recent and emerging trends that they would need to respond to if they were to continue trading.

Our unequivocal advice was that the two businesses could not compete and should be wound down in a dignified manner consistent with the needs of their current learners and staff. Our client accepted our advice and engaged us to manage the wind-down.

To compassionately and compliantly wind-down the businesses, we:

• Rapidly mobilised a best practice programme and risk management environment; identified and prioritised the wide range of risks which could impact the process; evaluated alternative approaches to the closure process; and prepared a granular implementation plan.
• Supported our client to engage strategically with stakeholders and funding partners in England, Scotland, and Wales to explain the decision, rationale for it – and our intent to manage the process from within our client’s organisation and in a dignified manner.
• Worked with those partners to negotiate early contract terminations; discuss how we might transfer provisions to other providers in substantial segments; and agree how we should manage the transfer of learners to other training providers where it proved necessary.
• Led work to assure and manage the businesses’ learner records – such that funding body closure audits, any business transfers and other crucial aspects of the closure process could be planned and completed on an evidenced and compliant basis.
• Negotiated and managed a series of substantial business transfers, through which other training providers assumed accountability for large elements of the two businesses’ overall provision – securing continuity of provision for students, and employment for staff.
• Designed and delivered a crucial, novel, approach to collective consultation, TUPE transfer and redundancy which enabled us to secure continuity of operations through to the precise points that we needed them in different areas, whilst providing maximum support for staff.
• Designed and led delivery of a sophisticated customer and learner engagement exercise, through which we successfully managed hundreds of customers, and more than 4,000 learners through the closure process without any material issues or negative PR.
• Managed the closure and withdrawal from more than 40 training centres all over the country, including the negotiation of lease terminations, termination of utility and service provider contracts, and the cataloguing and environmentally sustainable disposal of chattels.
• Led work with legal and financial advisors on options for formally winding-up the two businesses once the operational wind-down had reached the appropriate point – and then worked with them to complete those processes.
• Prepared a detailed project closure and lessons learnt report for our client’s board, which they used to inform their strategic thinking on future commercial endeavours.

As a result of our work, the businesses closed six months sooner than forecast, and at c£1m lower cost.All engaged learners either completed their courses with the businesses – or were transferred to other, credible providers.  We avoided compulsory redundancies for more than half of the businesses’ staff.  We facilitated the donation of four 40ft containers of unwanted furniture to colleges in Ghana – working with another of our clients.

Of our work, our client’s chairman said: “What made this work stand out for me was the way you were able to combine great strategic thinking with the management of an incredibly challenging piece of delivery work to realise our objectives for the wind down programme.”