Thu, 30 Oct 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
Beauty retailer Bodycare has been rescued from administration by an investment group headed by the former boss of The Body Shop, with store reopenings reportedly planned to begin in early 2026.
The company, which had close to 150 UK stores and was one of the country’s most established high street retailers of branded health and beauty products, fell into administration last month.
Nick Holloway, Chris Pole and Mike Leeds of Interpath Advisory were appointed as joint administrators of G.R. & M.M. Blackledge plc, which traded as Bodycare, on September 5, 2025. Just 32 stores were closed at the time, with 115 initially continuing to trade. However, later that month administrators announced that all stores were set to close, with the business declared no longer viable.
However, the company is now set to be acquired by an investment group led by Charles Denton, former CEO of Molton Browne and The Body Shop. While the financial details of the transaction have not been confirmed, the deal is said to include the retailer’s brand and intellectual property.
Following the acquisition, Denton plans to initially relaunch between 30 and 50 of the brand’s stores. The first wave of reopenings are set to focus on the North West and it is reported that several hundred staff members are expected to be brought back to the firm.
The new owners will work with landlords, suppliers and former staff to undertake a responsible, cost-disciplined relaunch of the company as they seek to re-establish the brand as a leading affordable retailer of personal care and beauty products.
Describing Bodycare as a “much-loved and trusted” brand, Denton commented: “We now have the mandate to bring stores and jobs back by transforming Bodycare’s rich legacy into a modern, scalable and profitable business.”
Interpath Managing Director and joint administrator Nick Holloway said: “We are pleased to hand Bodycare to an experienced new owner with a clear plan to restart operations.”
Like many high street retailers, Bodycare had been impacted by a series of challenges in recent times, including rising costs, the cost-of-living crisis and a difficult transition to its online retail platform. An aborted IPO in 2024 further affected the company’s financial position, subsequently leading to strain on its supplier relationships and a stock shortage.
In the year to December 31 2024, the company reported turnover of £132.6 million, up from £128.8 million a year earlier, but fell from a slight post-tax profit of under £10,000 in 2023 to a loss of nearly £1.1 million. Its fixed assets at the time were valued at £12.5 million and current assets at £28.6 million, while total equity amounted to approximately £13.2 million.
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