Fourth Lancashire Bodycare store to shut

Health and beauty chain Bodycare has announced another Lancashire store is set to close after going into administration.

Lancashire Business View reported last week that the high street retailer which specialises in offering skincare, cosmetics, toiletries, and fragrances was shutting stores in Darwen, Lytham St Annes and Morecambe.

According to reports, around 85 staff have also been made redundant at the company’s national distribution centre at Buckshaw Village.

Joint administrators from Interpath said it hoped 115 of the group's stores would continue to trade.

The Joint administrators of G.R. & M.M. Blackledge plc, trading as Bodycare, have provided the following update regarding the progress of the administration.

It said: "Since their appointment, the administrators have been running a sales process to establish interest in the business.

"To date, they have received interest from a number of parties in relation to the stores and as such, they continue to pursue this with the hope of securing a transaction.

"Unfortunately, however, given the shortage of stock and costs associated with operating stores, it is no longer viable to continue to trade all of the 115 stores that were retained on appointment."

The Ormskirk store will shut on September 18 and the statement said 'regrettably all staff members at these stores will be made redundant upon closure'.

Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath 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.”

Bodycare was created in 1970 by Graham and Margaret Blackledge from a market stall in Skelmersdale.

It has been owned by Baaj Capital since 2021 and is run by retail veteran Tony Brown, formerly of BHS and Beales.