A major beauty retailer has fallen into administration with all 56 of its stores to close by the end of the week in a blow to consumers.
Earlier this month, Bodycare appointed administrators from Interpath Advisory to oversee its business affairs with hundreds of jobs set to be made redundant.
The retailer began in a market stall in Lancashire back in the 1970s and previously used to run 118 stores, prior to slashing its retail portfolio,
Some 32 Bodycare stores closed immediately, with 450 employees redundant as a result, with an extra 30 stores shutting down a week later.
Bodycare is closing down for good
|PA
This left only 56 stores open to high street shopper, but administrators have now confirmed the business is no longer viable and these locations will be shut down.
While there has been interest in the Bodycare brand, previous talks with bigger firms to buy the business have not been fruitful.
It is understood that a shortage of stock and high operating costs, which some have blamed on the hiked tax burden placed on businesses by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have made trading difficult to manage.
All stores that are currently in operation are now expected to close by Saturday, September 27 in a move that will make 444 staff redundant.
High streets have been hit by a wave of store closures in the last 10 years | PAAdministrators have revealed that they will support impacted workers with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
Nick Holloway, the managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: "We understand this has been a difficult period and so we want to further express our sincere thanks to Bodycare’s staff who, since day one of the administration, have maintained the strong standards of presentation and customer service that Bodycare was renowned for.
"We will continue to explore options for the company's assets, including the Bodycare brand, and will provide further updates in due course."
Earlier this, retailers were forced to pay more towards National Insurance contributions after the Chancellor raised the rate paid by businesses to 15 per cent.
Here is a full list of the Bodycare stores that are set to close by the end of the week:
- Ashton-Under-Lyne
- Banbury
- Barnsley
- Barrow
- Bedford
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Braehead
- Bridgnorth
- Burnley
- Bury
- Chorley
- Clitheroe
- Darlington
- Derby
- Dundee
- Halifax
- Hereford
- Hinckley
- Irvine
- Keighley
- Kendal
- Kings Heath
- Lancaster
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Leigh
- Liverpool
- Livingston
- Luton
- Manchester
- Merry Hill
- Metro Centre
- Middlesborough
- Mold Washington
- Newcastle
- Nuneaton
- Oldham
- Pontefract
- Poulton
- Preston
- Rugby
- Sheffield
- Solihull
- Sunderland
- Sutton Coldfield
- Swindon
- Telford
- Thurrock
- Trowbridge
- Wakefield
- Walthamstow
- Warrington
- Wellingborough
- Wolverhampton.
The Chancellor has came under fire over her tax decisions
| GETTYHere is a list of the Bodycare stores that have already closed:
- Bolton
- Bromsgrove
- Castleford
- Chesterfield
- Doncaster
- Greenock
- Mansfield
- Salford
- Skipton
- Stevenage
- Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Thornaby
- Ulverston
- Whitehaven
- Dudley
- Dunfermline
- Hanley
- Hull
- Hyde
- Ilford
- Ipswich
- Morpeth
- Newark
- Northallerton
- Ormskirk
- Redcar
- Rochdale
- Shrewsbury
- St Helens
- Workington
- Beverley
- Cameron Toll
- Cannock
- Clydebank
- Cramlington
- Croydon
- Darwen
- Dumfries
- Edinburgh
- Erdington
- Falkirk
- Hemel Hempstead
- Kirkcaldy
- Loughborough
- Lytham St Annes
- Macclesfield
- Maidstone
- Morecambe
- Newport
- Northfield
- Paisley
- Parkhead
- Perth
- Port Talbot
- Rhyl
- Royton
- Scunthorpe
- Stourbridge
- Tamworth
- West Bromwich
- Wood Green
- Wrexham.