Beauty chain closing another 16 stores today after collapsing into administration

Bodycare is closing another 16 stores today - just days after shutting 14 stores earlier this week.

The high street beauty chain collapsed into administration earlier this month and, at the time, confirmed it was shutting 32 stores, with 450 jobs set to be lost.

But in a new update this week, Bodycare said it would close another 30 stores. This includes 14 that shut on Tuesday this week, with another 16 stores closing permanently today. It means another 235 jobs will be lost at the company.

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You can find the full list of locations below. Bodycare will have around 85 shops left after these latest closures. The company was founded in 1970 on a Lancashire market stall by Graham and Margaret Blackledge, but has been owned by Baaj Capital since 2021.

It sells products from well-known beauty brands including L'Oreal, Nivea and Elizabeth Arden.

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 has hired advisors from Interpath to handle the administration process. It marks the latest in a line of high street casualties, with Poundland recently sold to private equity firm Gordon Brothers for just £1.

The budget chain originally announced plans to close 68 stores - but in an update this week, Poundland revealed that 11 of these closures have been put on hold.

Poundland said there is no change to its overall expectation that in time as leases expire, its number of stores will reduce to around 650 to 700 stores. Poundland had 800 branches at the beginning of its restructure process.

The retailer is also still set to close its frozen and digital distribution site at Darton, South Yorkshire, and another warehouse at Springvale in Bilston, West Midlands.

Meanwhile, River Island recently secured a restructuring plan aimed at preventing the fashion chain from collapsing - but it means 33 shops will close. The fashion retailer will pay reduced rents on another 71 stores.

Landlords are being asked to cut rents for three years and potentially stop payments completely on some sites in a bid to stem losses. Its rescue deal was approved by the High Court earlier this month.

Full list of Bodycare closures

The stores closing today (September 18)

• Dudley

• Dunfermline

• Hanley

• Hull

• Hyde

• Ilford

• Ipswich

• Morpeth

• Newark

• Northallerton

• Ormskirk

• Redcar

• Rochdale

• Shrewsbury

• St Helens

• Workington

Stores that have already closed:

• Beverley
• Bolton
• Bromsgrove
• Cameron Toll
• Cannock
• Castleford
• Chesterfield
• Clydebank
• Cramlington
• Croydon
• Darwen
• Doncaster
• Dumfries
• Edinburgh
• Erdington
• Falkirk
• Greenock
• Hemel Hempstead
• Kirkcaldy
• Loughborough
• Lytham St Annes
• Macclesfield
• Maidstone
• Mansfield
• Morecambe
• Newport
• Northfield
• Paisley
• Parkhead
• Perth
• Port Talbot
• Rhyl
• Royton
• Salford
• Scunthorpe
• Skipton
• Stevenage
• Stourbridge
• Sutton-in-Ashfield
• Tamworth
• Thornaby
• Ulverston
• West Bromwich
• Whitehaven
• Wood Green
• Wrexham