The industry looks for answers after BFG closure

BFG made the announcement with a brief press release on 14th January, saying it had ceased trading after ‘two successful years’, but offered no explanation as to why the end had come now. 

Respected voices in the industry are now demanding that the BFG gives a full and frank assessment of what went wrong, so lessons can be learned for the future, and help offered to those that have been affected by the shut-down. 

The British Cleaning Council (BCC) is one such voice, and in a statement said: “There is no option to contact the organisation through its website, as the content from both BFG’s and Asset Skills sites has been removed. 

"The lack of clarity surrounding its demise has raised questions about the company's probity, particularly as it’s received a substantial amount of government funding.

“There is no suggestion, at this stage, that any impropriety has taken place, but there is genuine concern that legitimate questions about the merger, and the subsequent business failure, have not been addressed.”

A lot of people in the industry have been affected by BFG’s sudden collapse. Asset Skills was a well established training organisation before the merger. Also lost is Upkeep, a charity that trained young people about building maintenance, and there is no word also about the Young Managers Forum.

BCC chairman Simon Hollingbery said: "It’s never good to hear about a company closing, but the lack of information coming from BFG about the reasons for its closure is disappointing. The BCC and the rest of the cleaning industry needs to know what exactly went wrong, so that we can all learn lessons for the future."

Stan Atkins, CEO of BICSc and deputy chairman of the BCC, said: “The demise of BFG leaves a number of unanswered questions. It re-enforces the view that public money used by the Government has to be allocated by the agency with a knowledge of the industry involved. We need to understand what lessons can be learned from this.”