1300 jobs saved as Manchester-based Lifeline Project gets dismantled

More than 1,300 jobs have been saved after contracts operated by financially beleaguered Manchester charity Lifeline Project were transferred to other providers.

David Thornhill, Geoff Carton-Kelly and Russell Cash from business advisory firm FRP Advisory were appointed as joint administrators on Lifeline, a registered charity offering help with drug and alcohol abuse related issues.

The sale of Lifeline’s business has ensured that all its employees, numbering around 1300, have either moved to CGL or other providers of the same services.

Of the jobs saved, around 40 were at Lifeline’s head office at Basil Chambers in Manchester city centre.

Lifeline operated around 70 alcohol and drug related rehabilitation projects across England and Scotland, serving approximately 80k clients annually and turning over £61.4m in 2015/16.

In the last year however, the charity saw its turnover plummet and made a significant loss from trading activities due to further cuts to public expenditure budgets and a number of poorly funded projects.

Facing unsustainable financial pressure as it continued to trade, the charity worked with FRP Advisory to explore its options and safeguard the continuity of its services.

The charity has now been dismantled and all projects transferred to new providers, with national charity Change, Grow, Live (CGL) assuming the vast majority.

Joint administrator David Thornhill said: “I am delighted that all contracts that were capable of being transferred have been, and others, where commissioners decided to take the work in-house or other providers were identified, have similarly been transferred.

“We are also delighted that the work that has been done over recent weeks has ensured that around 1,300 members of Lifeline staff have been transferred to new employers and there have been no redundancies as a result of the administration.”

He added: “That is testament to the goodwill of CGL, the commissioners of services and the staff themselves to all of whom we offer our thanks.”

CGL chief exec David Biddle commented: “We are delighted to have been able to step in to maintain many of the vital services previously provided by Lifeline and to have transferred the majority of staff to us.

“Those staff provide their invaluable expertise to services users and communities across the UK and it is work that must be continued. We are honoured to be part of that process.”