Health and beauty chain Bodycare in race to avert collapse

A wellness and quality retailer founded connected a Lancashire marketplace stall much than fractional a period agone is facing illness amid a contention to find a rescue deal.

Sky News has learnt that Bodycare, which employs astir 1,500 people, could autumn into medication arsenic soon arsenic adjacent week unless a purchaser is found.

City sources said that Interpath, the advisory steadfast which has been moving with Bodycare and its owners for respective months, was continuing to research options for the business.

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The institution is owned by Baaj Capital, a household bureau tally by Jas Singh.

Its different investments person included In The Style, which underwent a pre-pack medication earlier this year, and enactment products supplier Amscan International.

Baaj besides attempted to instrumentality implicit The Original Factory Shop earlier this twelvemonth earlier its connection was trumped by Modella Capital, different specializer retail investor.

News of Bodycare's travails comes conscionable weeks aft the retailer secured a £7m indebtedness installation to bargain it short-term breathing space.

The installation was secured against Bodycare's retail inventory, according to a connection past month.

Bodycare was established by Graham and Margaret Blackledge successful Skelmersdale successful 1970, and sells branded products made by the likes of L'Oreal, Nivea and Elizabeth Arden.

The concatenation was profitable earlier the pandemic, but similar galore retailers mislaid millions of pounds successful the fiscal years instantly aft it hit.

Bodycare received fiscal enactment from the payer successful the signifier of a multimillion lb indebtedness issued nether 1 of the Treasury's pandemic backing schemes.

The concatenation is tally by retail seasoned Tony Brown, who held elder roles astatine BHS and Beales, the now-defunct section store groups.

If Bodycare does autumn into insolvency proceedings, it would beryllium the latest precocious thoroughfare concatenation to look illness this year, amid intensifying complaints from the manufacture astir taxation increases announced successful past autumn's budget.

In caller weeks, River Island narrowly avoided medication aft winning creditor support for a restructuring involving store closures and occupation losses.

Later this week, the struggling discount elephantine Poundland volition question akin support from the courts for a extremist overhaul that volition entail dozens of store closures.

Bodycare could not beryllium reached for remark connected Tuesday, portion Baaj has been contacted for remark and Interpath declined to comment.