A major college group’s venture in Saudi Arabia has officially ended – but questions hang over whether millions of pounds in tax will need to be handed back.
Activate Learning has run The Oxford Partnership LLP – a group of four colleges for female students – in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s Colleges of Excellence programme since 2014.
But the college group failed to reach an agreement to renew the funding contract when it expired in 2020, so The Oxford Partnership LLP ceased trading and went into liquidation in April 2022, according to Activate’s recently published accounts.
At the point of liquidation Activate Learning wrote off a £31,500 initial investment, but there is concern that the Saudi Arabian tax authority could come knocking.
