CDU sells off Cairns and Adelaide education businesses after both go into deficit
CHARLES Darwin University has sold multiple education businesses interstate, which all went into deficit while owned by the university.
Northern Territory
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CHARLES Darwin University has sold multiple education businesses interstate, which all went into deficit while owned by the university.
In CDU’s 2019 annual report the university “resolved to commence closure” in March 2020 of the Cairns Language Centre (CLC), the Cairns Business College (CBC) and Cairns Education Australia (CEA).
The report also stated CDU sold leading hotel school, the International College of Hotel Management (ICHM), with transfer of ownership occurring in February 2020.
CDU purchased the Cairns businesses in July 2017 and the hotel school in January 2017.
The NT Auditor-General’s report for the year ending December 31, 2018 found the CLC, CBC and CEA had a combined deficit of $1.8 million.
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ICHM reported a deficit of $639,581 compared to a surplus of $119,179 in 2017.
The report stated all deficits were mainly due to a reduction in revenue and increased employee related expenses, as well as a rental expense exceeding the rental income for the CEA.
In 2017 Vice-Chancellor Simon Maddocks was eager to expand on the successes of the Cairns and Adelaide businesses.
“The CLC has an outstanding reputation and it has obvious synergies with the CBC and with CDU,” he said in a statement.
“CDU’s strengths in hospitality and tourism mean we have obvious synergies with ICHM, and our online capacity in business and management programs add new opportunities to develop capability for these sectors,” he said in another statement.
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A CDU spokeswoman did not specify why it relinquished its Cairns operations other than saying: “We have sold the businesses”.
“The opportunity for the sale of ICHM presented itself at the right time for CDU after having managed the business for two years,” she said of the Adelaide business.
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