Forty staff will be made redundant following the collapse of 105-year-old Scottish charity, the Edinburgh University Settlement.

Described as a 'social action centre' the EUS was in place to improve public provision for disadvantaged or disabled people in Edinburgh. 

Liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers advised that the charity's outgoings have exceeded its income by £300,000 for the last few years.

EUS trustee and PwC partner Bruce Cartwright commented: “Over the coming weeks, we will be carrying out a more detailed review to understand the financial history. What is clear, however, is that there is no funding to meet the ongoing liabilities including the payment of salaries and wages to the employees.

“As a result, we have reluctantly had to let the employees know that operations had to cease. The majority of the 40 employees have been made redundant with immediate effect however we have retained a small, core team to help with the maintenance and subsequent disposal of the charity's property.

"We have also ensured that all the employees impacted have received advice on their contractual entitlements as a result of the insolvency of their employer.”

Scottish publication the Scotsman, however, reported disgruntled charity staff were said to feel "angered" by the news of their job losses and the loss of service for around 200 users. 

Despite the charity stating on its website that it had close ties with Edinburgh University which have "recently been reviewed, opening up many new opportunities for the future", a spokesperson for Edinburgh University denied the links adding that the University is "completely distinct from (EUS) financially and we have been for some time."