ADMINISTRATORS have begun investigating the collapse of Liverpool training firm PFL, which has left creditors more than £780,000 out of pocket.

PFL was originally the trading arm of the charity Partnership for Learning, which was founded to help train staff at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Novartis and Eli Lilly. Its purpose-built centre opposite JLR’s Halewood plant in South Road was opened in 2001 and funded by European Union grants, the Northwest Development Agency, Liverpool City Council and Knowsley Council.

Accounts for the year to July, 2009, showed a loss of £837,000 on a turnover of £2.2m, down from £3.95m in 2007 when it made a slender profit.

Last August, the charity sold PFL to a private company called PFL Centre of Excellence (COE) for £1, though the deal included £1.34m of debt, which related to unpaid rent.

A further loss of £130,000 accrued during the first half of the current trading year, on revenues of £980,000.

PFL defaulted on a repayment plan agreed with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), then found it would be unable to pay salaries at the end of March. Stephen Clancy and David Whitehouse of insolvency firm MCR were appointed joint administrators on March 19.

The administrators have granted a licence to trade the business during the administration period to E&YS (Liverpool).