Sadly all staff at closing branches will be made redundant
Both of Hull’s Bodycare shops have been confirmed as among the 30 branches closing following the health and beauty chain’s collapse into administration. This follows the closure of Bodycare in Beverley.
The shop in Hull’s Prospect Shopping Centre is due to close on Thursday, September 18. The Bodycare in North Point Shopping Centre in Bransholme closed on September 12.
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.”
Following their appointment, administrators have been running a sales process. To date, they have received interest from a number of parties in relation to the stores.
As such, they still hope to secure a sale. But given the shortage of stock and costs associated with operating stores, it is no longer viable to continue to trade all 115 stores retained on appointment.
It was announced the following stores are closing:
- Bolton
- Salford
- Bromsgrove
- Skipton
- Castleford
- Stevenage
- Chesterfield
- Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Doncaster
- Thornaby
- Greenock
- Ulverston
- Mansfield
- Whitehaven
- Dudley
- Newark
- Dunfermline
- Northallerton
- Hanley
- Ormskirk
- Hull
- Redcar
- Hyde
- Rochdale
- Ilford
- Shrewsbury
- Ipswich
- St Helens
- Morpeth
- Workington
All members of staff at these stores will be made redundant upon closure. The administrators will continue to provide all support to those impacted, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
Bodycare was founded in 1970 in a Lancashire market stall. It had 147 stores across the UK and employed some 1,500 people.
In a previous press release Interpath said the chain was hit by rising costs and slow consumer spending, like many other retailers. The Chorley-based group also faced a shortfall in funding after a planned IPO was cancelled last year, hitting supplier relationships and leading to stock shortages.
What restaurant would you like to see in Hull? You can have your say by completing the poll below or by clicking here.