Hundreds of jobs at risk as retailer Bodycare braces for administration

More than a thousand high street jobs will be put at risk this week when Bodycare, the health and beauty retailer, is forced to call in administrators.

Sky News has learnt that Bodycare, which was founded on a Lancashire market stall more than half a century ago, is expected to appoint administrators from Interpath Advisory as soon as Friday. Bodycare, which specialises in selling fragrances, toiletries, cosmetics and skincare products, employs about 1,500 people and trades from nearly 150 stores across the country.

The chain's collapse into insolvency proceedings is likely to trigger a further effort by Interpath to find a buyer for parts of the business. The company is owned by Baaj Capital, a family office run by Jas Singh.

Baaj, which is considered a likely candidate to buy Bodycare back from the administrators, counts In The Style among its other investments. The firm also attempted to take over The Original Factory Shop earlier this year before its offer was trumped by Modella Capital, another specialist retail investor.

Read more from Sky News:Value of pound sinksUK hit by toxic cocktail of market shifts Bodycare's deepening crisis comes just weeks after the retailer secured a £7m debt facility to buy it short-term breathing space. The facility was secured against Bodycare's retail inventory, according to a statement in July.

Bodycare was established by Graham and Margaret Blackledge in Skelmersdale in 1970, and sells branded products made by the likes of L'Oreal, Nivea and Elizabeth Arden. The chain was profitable before the pandemic, but like many retailers, lost millions of pounds in the financial years immediately after it hit.

Bodycare received financial support from the taxpayer in the form of a multimillion-pound loan issued under one of the Treasury's pandemic funding schemes. The chain is run by retail veteran Tony Brown, who held senior roles at BHS and Beales, the now-defunct department store groups.

Bodycare is the latest high street chain to face collapse this year, amid intensifying complaints from the industry about tax increases announced in last autumn's Budget. In recent weeks, River Island and Poundland both narrowly avoided administration after winning creditor approval for restructuring plans involving store closures and job losses.

Baaj has been contacted for comment, while Interpath declined to comment..