Bodycare: Major health and beauty chain with 17 Scottish stores facing collapse with jobs at risk

A major retailer with stores across Scotland is facing collapse, according to reports.

Beauty and cosmetics chain Bodycare, which employs 1,500 people at 149 stores across the UK, could enter administration as early as next week if a buyer is not found.

According to Sky News, restructuring specialists at Interpath have been working with its owner, Baaj Capital, to find a buyer for the company, which was founded in Lancashire in 1970.

Bodycare, a health and beauty chain with 149 shops across the UK, is on the brink of collapse unless a buyer is found. | submit

Bodycare, which sells brands like L'Oreal and Nivea, received UK government support during the Covid-19 pandemic, but has since struggled financially.

Bodycare has been approached for comment.

List of Bodycare's Scottish stores

Clydebank

Dundee

Dunfermline

Dumfries

Edinburgh Cameron Toll

Edinburgh Gyle Shopping Centre

East Kilbride

Falkirk

Glasgow Parkhead

Glasgow Braehead Shopping Centre

Glasgow Fort

Greenock

Irvine

Kirkcaldy

Paisley

Perth

Stirling

On Tuesday, it was reported that Poundland is to close dozens more stores, including one in Scotland, after a judge approved a major turn-around plan that will save it from entering administration.

The budget retailer said in June it planned to close 68 stores as part of a plan to revive its fortunes, putting more than 1,000 jobs at stake.

The retailer asked a judge to approve the deal, with barristers telling the hearing the company was just days away from running out of money. In June, the company was sold to US investment firm Gordon Brothers for just £1.

The decision means Poundland, which has around 14,700 staff and operates about 800 stores, is to push ahead with further store closures after dozens had already shut.

The list of stores set to close include the retailer's shop in Irvine, which will shut on September 14. Poundland’s stores in Port Glasgow, Perth and Broxburn have already closed.

The other stores announced they will shut their doors on Sunday. The list includes stores in London, Northern Ireland and Yorkshire.

Poundland said it would shut down 16 more stores in addition to those announced, but has not yet identified their locations. The retailer also plans to close a distribution site in South Yorkshire and its national distribution centre in the West Midlands by early next year.

Poundland was founded in Staffordshire in 1990 and originally sold all of its products for less than £1. Since 2017, however, the retailer has sold a growing number of products for more than a pound.