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Daily Record
09-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Scots woman 'stuck on Universal Credit' after spending £12k for qualification
GlamCandy UK Ltd entered compulsory liquidation in October 2024. Several Scots women have been left thousands of pounds in debt after a makeup academy went into liquidation, they claim. One said she ended up on Universal Credit after she forked out nearly £12,000 for an 18-month makeup qualification course that she never received her diploma for, reports Edinburgh Live. In October 2024, GlamCandy UK Ltd, which was a technical and vocational secondary education centre which focused on teaching cosmetics, entered compulsory liquidation. GlamCandy had run up debts totalling nearly £800,000 by October 31, 2023, according to Companies House. Former GlamCandy staff and students who spoke to Edinburgh Live reported feeling "powerless" and having "awful" mental health impacts from the ordeal. They claim they have not been told whether the company plans to reimburse them. Sophie Johnston, 21, moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh in 2023 to begin a HND in Makeup and TV through GlamCandy. However, after completing the course and spending nearly £12,000 on the course, she is yet to receive her diploma. During her studies, she also worked several months for GlamCandy as a makeup teacher. She claims she was not paid for nearly three months' work after she was told of the company's liquidation in January 2025. She was allegedly left £1,185 out of pocket for shifts from January to December. Unsure if she will ever be reimbursed, Sophie was forced to go on Universal Credit and says she feels 'defeated' as she struggles to find employment in the industry without qualification. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: "I feel like it's been a waste of time. I don't know if I'm ever going to get something from it. "I've worked so hard to get to where I want to be but now it feels like it's been taken away from me. I'm applying to all different kinds of jobs, but nobody gets back to me so this is putting me down even more." "At this point, it's so much hassle to go through [trying to get reimbursed] - do I just leave it? No one is willing to help. 'It would be extremely hard [to get a job in the industry without the diploma]. I wouldn't be able to work on a film set with prosthetics if I'm not qualified. I'm on Universal Credit now. I just feel defeated." Sabaa Khan, 34, said she started working with GlamCandy in June 2024 as a freelance tutor. She claims to be owed around £880 for her work in January and February this year. She claimed she was told in December the company was going into liquidation and in March this year, employees were informed no payments were being processed and the tutors had to leave their schools. With two small children at home, she has been left ' gutted ' by the situation. She added: "In March we had a group call being told there was no money left and I was getting pulled out of the school. We worked really hard with all the students and we were worried about their education. "I am also missing two months of payment and personally, I am gutted because I have two small children and I was trying to take on a job that worked within school hours. The mental health impact of it all has been awful." A 38-year-old woman, who wishes to be kept anonymous, claims to be owed over £2,000 from GlamCandy for her work as a freelance hair and makeup artist in Edinburgh. She added: "They owe me just over 2k, which is quite a lot of money in Scotland. I just bought a house last year as well, that's been really stressful. "For me being a freelancer, it's very hard getting support in this situation. If you are employed, the liquidators pay those people first. 'It made me really angry and also affected my mental health in terms of feeling down and powerless and feeling like I have no control or power over the situation. 'I worked in Edinburgh driving back and forth from there to Glasgow for months, getting nothing for it. I was paying petrol money out of my own pocket." A GlamCandy source said: "GlamCandy UK Ltd was bought over in December 2023 for £1 by a London-based investor in a rescue deal. " Regrettably even after a substantial investment and some exceptional work by the team, it was unable to come to a repayment deal with HMRC and was forced into liquidation." Liquidators Kevin Mapstone and Thomas McKay of Begbies Traynor said: "Kevin Mapstone of Begbies Traynor was appointed as liquidator of Edinburgh-based makeup academy GlamCandy UK Ltd on 30 December 2024. Mr Mapstone is being assisted on the engagement by Thomas McKay, a partner at Begbies Traynor. "The position in respect of all creditors is currently being assessed, and further updates will be provided to all known creditors in due course. "We have every sympathy with former GlamCandy students whose studies have been disrupted or curtailed, however tuition could not continue once the business ceased trading as part of the liquidation process. We therefore liaised at an early stage with the relevant bodies to seek to ensure that affected students could be signposted where possible to alternative accredited course providers instead. "The joint liquidators ' investigations into the company's financial position and the circumstances leading to its insolvency are still at a relatively early stage. As part of the liquidation process, the joint liquidators will investigate any concerns or allegations relating to the company's activities that are communicated to them. "We encourage any party with an outstanding debt, or a grievance about the business or its officers, to contact us at our Edinburgh office on 0131 222 9060." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. 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Edinburgh Live
08-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh woman 'stuck on Universal Credit' after spending £12,000 for qualification
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Edinburgh women claim they have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a makeup academy went into liquidation. One said she forked out nearly £12,000 for an 18-month makeup qualification course - only to end up on Universal Credit after she never received her diploma. West End-based GlamCandy UK Ltd was a technical and vocational secondary education centre which focused on teaching cosmetics. In October 2024, the company entered compulsory liquidation. By October 31 2023, GlamCandy had run up debts totalling nearly £800,000, according to Companies House. Former GlamCandy staff and students who spoke to Edinburgh Live reported feeling "powerless" and having "awful" mental health impacts from the ordeal. They claim they have not been told whether the company plans to reimburse them. Sophie Johnston, 21, moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh in 2023 to begin a HND in Makeup and TV through GlamCandy. However, after completing the course and spending nearly £12,000 on the course, she is yet to receive her diploma. (Image: Supplied) Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages During her studies, she also worked several months for GlamCandy as a makeup teacher. She claims she was not paid for nearly three months' work after she was told of the company's liquidation in January 2025. She was allegedly left £1,185 out of pocket for shifts from January to December. Unsure if she will ever be reimbursed, Sophie was forced to go on Universal Credit and says she feels 'defeated' as she struggles to find employment in the industry without qualification. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: "I feel like it's been a waste of time. I don't know if I'm ever going to get something from it. "I've worked so hard to get to where I want to be but now it feels like it's been taken away from me. I'm applying to all different kinds of jobs, but nobody gets back to me so this is putting me down even more." "At this point, it's so much hassle to go through [trying to get reimbursed] - do I just leave it? No one is willing to help." 'It would be extremely hard [to get a job in the industry without the diploma]. I wouldn't be able to work on a film set with prosthetics if I'm not qualified. I'm on Universal Credit now. I just feel defeated." (Image: Supplied) Sabaa Khan, 34, said she started working with GlamCandy in June 2024 as a freelance tutor. She claims to be owed around £880 for her work in January and February this year. She claimed she was told in December the company was going into liquidation and in March this year, employees were informed no payments were being processed and the tutors had to leave their schools. With two small children at home, she has been left 'gutted' by the situation. She added: "In March we had a group call being told there was no money left and I was getting pulled out of the school. We worked really hard with all the students and we were worried about their education. "I am also missing two months of payment and personally, I am gutted because I have two small children and I was trying to take on a job that worked within school hours. The mental health impact of it all has been awful." A 38-year-old woman, who wishes to be kept anonymous, claims to be owed over £2,000 from GlamCandy for her work as a freelance hair and makeup artist in Edinburgh. She added: "They owe me just over 2k, which is quite a lot of money in Scotland. I just bought a house last year as well, that's been really stressful. "For me being a freelancer, it's very hard getting support in this situation. If you are employed, the liquidators pay those people first. 'It made me really angry and also affected my mental health in terms of feeling down and powerless and feeling like I have no control or power over the situation. 'I worked in Edinburgh driving back and forth from there to Glasgow for months, getting nothing for it. I was paying petrol money out of my own pocket." A GlamCandy source said: "GlamCandy UK Ltd was bought over in December 2023 for £1 by a London-based investor in a rescue deal. "Regrettably even after a substantial investment and some exceptional work by the team, it was unable to come to a repayment deal with HMRC and was forced into liquidation." Liquidators Kevin Mapstone and Thomas McKay of Begbies Traynor said: "Kevin Mapstone of Begbies Traynor was appointed as liquidator of Edinburgh-based makeup academy GlamCandy UK Ltd on 30 December 2024. Mr Mapstone is being assisted on the engagement by Thomas McKay, a partner at Begbies Traynor. "The position in respect of all creditors is currently being assessed, and further updates will be provided to all known creditors in due course. "We have every sympathy with former GlamCandy students whose studies have been disrupted or curtailed, however tuition could not continue once the business ceased trading as part of the liquidation process. We therefore liaised at an early stage with the relevant bodies to seek to ensure that affected students could be signposted where possible to alternative accredited course providers instead. "The joint liquidators' investigations into the company's financial position and the circumstances leading to its insolvency are still at a relatively early stage. As part of the liquidation process, the joint liquidators will investigate any concerns or allegations relating to the company's activities that are communicated to them. "We encourage any party with an outstanding debt, or a grievance about the business or its officers, to contact us at our Edinburgh office on 0131 222 9060."
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Cork Simon report shows near 'impossible' hopes of finding one or two-bedroom homes
Adults in emergency accommodation finding a one or two-bedroom houses would be like "finding dinosaur teeth", a new report from a Cork homeless service has claimed. Cork Simon Community's Home Truths paper, published toda, claims there is a "significant undersupply" of relevant housing for the largest household category in the country. The majority of adults in emergency accommodation in Cork and Kerry are single households, statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Department of Housing show. However, the report says that the majority of housing available is for three and four-bedroomed properties. Cork Simon says there are twice as many one and two person households in Cork City as there are one-and-two bedroom homes. It said there was "little sign" of the under-supply of one and two-bedroomed housing improving. Sophie Johnston of Cork Simon said that the issue was particularly affecting those on the social housing lists. "Over 60% of households on the social housing waiting list in Cork City are single households while over three-quarters of adults in homeless emergency accommodation here in the Southwest are single adults, most of whom need single unit housing to be able to leave homelessness," Ms Johnston said. "Not only do we need more housing, we especially need more one and two-bed housing.' Apartment units The report noted that apartment construction is a good indicator of future supply, with 80% of apartments in Cork City being one or two-bedroomed units. However, approved planning permissions for apartment units in Cork City fell by 61% in 2024, while less than one in four apartment units approved for planning in Cork City between 2018 and 2022 were completed by the end of 2024. Latest CSO data shows new apartment completions in Cork City were down 10% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Building commencement notices for apartment units also fell in Cork City in the first quarter of 2025 to their lowest quarterly number in five years. John Foskett, a Cork Simon project worker, said: 'Finding one- and two-beds is like finding dinosaur teeth. There's nothing available on Daft. It's nonexistent." He added that while service users were normally going with a view to renting through Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), they were not finding success. "If I find somewhere available and we mention HAP, they don't get a call back. "With the lack of one- and two-beds over the last 18 months, it's an impossible market for our lads to break into." Barry, a Cork Simon service user, shared his experience for Home Truths, describing it as 'little-to-nothing'. He said: "If there was a single, you'd see the amount of views on it. There's too many people looking for the one accommodation, [that] kind of thing.' Read More Cork Airport to welcome 62,500 passengers this May bank holiday weekend
