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02
Sept
Harrogate high-street chain faces uncertain days ahead
Harrogate could be about to lose another high-street chain from its town centre, the Stray Ferret has learned.
Bodycare, the national health and beauty retailer, is said to be looking for a buyer, and Sky News reported last week that the company has been working for several months with advisory firm Interpath to find a rescue deal.
If none can be found, the company, which recently secured a £7m debt facility to buy it some breathing space, faces collapse into administration – possibly as early as this week, according to Sky News. The company employs about 1,500 nationally.
Job adverts are still posted in the window.
Bodycare's website, bodycareonline.co.uk, is currently offline, and the company has reportedly already cleared out its stores in Wrexham and Rhyl, which are two of 149 across the UK.
But the picture in Harrogate looks more mixed. The firm’s Cambridge Street store has not had any deliveries for some weeks, and its shelves are currently looking depleted. Yet notices on its door advertise vacancies for full-time manager and assistant manager positions.
Staff say they have been told nothing of the company’s plans, but some are understood to be fearful that they will not receive a full redundancy package in the event of administration.
Bodycare's website, including its online shop, is currently not working.
Bodycare was founded by Graham and Margaret Blackledge in Skelmersdale in 1970, but it is now owned by Baaj Capital, a family office run by Bradford entrepreneur Jas Singh. Its other investments have included party products supplier Amscan International, which it bought out of administration in July 2024, and women’s clothing retailer In The Style, which went into administration and was sold in March.
The company employs around 1,500 staff nationally.
Bodycare filed full accounts in September 2023 and June 2024, but no accounts have yet been filed this year.
Its closure would mean that Bodycare would join a growing list of national chains to have disappeared from Harrogate’s town centre due to financial collapse in recent years, including Gap, Debenhams, Paperchase and Claire’s Accessories.
The Stray Ferret has contacted Bodycare for comment, but has received no response.
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