Bodycare to shut 30 stores as administrators begin closure programme

Around 30 Bodycare shops are set to close this month after administrators said the health and beauty retailer could no longer keep all of its stores trading.

Some of the affected sites will shut today (16 September) and 18 September, with all staff at those branches made redundant. 

Bodycare’s administrators Interpath Advisory said that the decision was driven by stock shortages and the high cost of trading. 

The closures will cut the retailer’s estate from 115 shops to 85. However, Interpath is continuing its  efforts to secure a buyer for the remaining stores.

Stores due to close today (16 September) include Bolton, Salford, Bromsgrove, Skipton, Castleford, Stevenage, Chesterfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Doncaster, Thornaby, Greenock, Ulverston, Mansfield and Whitehaven.

On Thursday 18 September, branches in Dudley, Newark, Dunfermline, Northallerton, Hanley, Ormskirk, Hull, Redcar, Hyde, Rochdale, Ilford, Shrewsbury, Ipswich, St Helens, Morpeth and Workington will shut.

Interpath said staff affected by the closures would receive support in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “We’d like to express our sincere thanks to the hundreds of dedicated Bodycare staff who have shown such professionalism since our appointment. 

“We will continue to trade the remaining 85 stores while we remain in discussions with interested parties with the aim of preserving as much of the business as possible.”