A long-established London training provider has closed amid a Department for Education investigation.
Before entering liquidation last week, Prevista Ltd held publicly funded training contracts for apprenticeships, adult education and employment support.
It was one of 55 independent training providers to land a coveted national adult skills fund contract in 2023, worth up to £2.5 million a year.
Although the reasons for Prevista’s closure are unclear, FE Week understands it is under investigation by the DfE.
Prevista was first incorporated in 1996. According to its most recent accounts, the company had about 50 employees in the 2023-24 financial year.
Director Salik Miah and appointed liquidator Farheen Qureshi of Parker Getty Ltd did not respond to multiple requests for comment from FE Week.
Miah is understood to be the only director of the company, which has been owned via an employee ownership trust since 2020.
When previous owner and managing director James Clements Smith sold Prevista to the trust in 2020 it had a turnover of around £10 million and declared a profit of £987,000.
Its most recent accounts show turnover had dropped £3.7 million.
Prevista held an adult education contract with the Greater London Authority worth more than £1 million per year, alongside the national AEB contract with the DfE.
A GLA spokesperson said: “We can confirm Prevista Ltd was awarded an allocation by the GLA under its Jobs and Skills for Londoners programme. We are not able to comment further at this stage about any contractual arrangements.”
The DfE also declined to comment.
Prevista suffered a ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted rating in 2023 due to concerns about off-the-job training and subcontracted provision, but inspectors found the company was making ‘significant progress’ during a follow-up visit last year.
Prevista had over 1,000 learners in 2023 but the total had more than halved a year later, according to Ofsted’s reports.
In previous years the company held traineeship contracts worth up to £2 million per year and delivered about £1.6 million in apprenticeships training in 2022-23.
Prevista was also one of 23 providers that shared a £7.5 million Department for Work and Pensions contract for “provision of employment and health-related services”.
Your thoughts