Charity with key projects in Brighton goes bust

A charity that works mainly in Brighton and four other areas has gone bust.

People Can, previously known as the Novas Scarman Group, has gone into administration blaming a £17 million pension deficit.

The deficit stems from liabilities dating back several years to when the charity operated as a housing association.

The charity has an office in Community Base in Queen’s Road, Brighton, and funded dozens of projects across Brighton and Hove.

David Hurst, Ian Oakley-Smith and Karen Dukes, of PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers), the accountants and professional services firm, were appointed joint administrators of the charity yesterday (Monday 19 November).

People Can, which gained charitable status under its current name in January last year, has been working with homeless people, victims of domestic abuse and ex-offenders.

The charity employs almost 300 staff and works across the country although its projects are mainly in London, Bristol, Somerset, Liverpool and Brighton.

It operates a number of hostels, provides employment training and its outreach work also includes funding small local projects, helplines and work with teenagers.

The administrators have taken control of the charity’s operations and are in discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council about how to transfer services to successor providers if possible.

The charity was formed five years ago when the Scarman Trust merged with the Novas Group, which was a charity for the homeless, and the employment charity Path.