CYP Now - 4Children collapse: the deciding factors that led to administration

4Children chief Imelda Redmond says a perfect storm of contract losses, government policy inertia and shortage of cash reserves led to the charity going into administration, while ex-chief Anne Longfield says she left it in "good shape".

Following more than 30 years in existence, charity 4Children entered administration on 31 August.

The vast majority of services - made up of children's centres, nurseries and youth work provision - were handed over to Action for Children, local authorities or other voluntary sector providers. In total, more than 1,000 staff transferred to new employers - although about 45 redundancies have been made, affecting mainly head office staff.

Just one year after the collapse of BAAF Adoption and Fostering and Kids Company (see below), how has another major children's charity got into financial difficulties?

Rapid growth

4Children grew rapidly in recent years - both its income and outgoings roughly trebled between 2010/11 and 2014/15. In 2011, it managed 40 children's centres, but by 2014/15 this figure had increased to more than 100. The number of nurseries it managed also grew.

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