High street beauty chain Bodycare has said it will shut 32 shops and cut around 450 jobs after falling into administration.
Nick Holloway, joint administrator for Bodycare and managing director at Interpath, said: “These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading.
“Unfortunately for Bodycare, which was also contending with a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome.
“Our intention is to trade the majority of the company’s stores in order to realise stock while we explore options for a possible sale of the business and its assets.
“In addition, and as a matter of priority, we will be providing all support to those employees impacted by redundancy, including supporting them in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
Bodycare, which sells brands well known loved brands L’Oreal, Elizabeth Arden and Nivea, was profitable prior to the pandemic but has struggled financially since.
It also failed in a bid to acquire The Original Factory Shop earlier this year.
Bodycare was established by Graham and Margaret Blackledge in Skelmersdale in 1970, the chain was forced to rely on pandemic-era government support through a taxpayer-backed loan to survive.
Bodycare is run by retail veteran Tony Brown, who held senior roles at BHS and Beales, the now-defunct department store groups.
The chain is the latest high street brand to run into hot water. Scope will shut a flurry of stores this month, the national disability equality charity, revealed in January that it was struggling financially and would be forced to shut some stores.
It comes after River Island narrowly avoided administration after winning creditor approval for a restructuring involving store closures and job losses.