Senior government minister calls for investigation into collapse of Bodycare

The government has taken notice of the actions involved in the collapse of a major Lancashire employer

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

When Bodycare entered administration, it meant the likely end of a company that started as market stall in Skelmersdale in 1970 and went onto have 130 stores across the UK.

But in 2022, Margaret and Graham Blackledge sold that business to Baaj Capital and, three years later, there are a queue of former workers who fear they will not receive money owed or redundancy payments.

Every single Bodycare store in the UK was closed by the end of September.

Now a senior government minister has written to the Insolvency Service asking for Baaj Capital to be investigated for what is described as a ‘pattern of behaviour’, The Lancashire Lead exclusively reveals in today’s edition.

Lancashire briefing

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L-R top Mark Routledge, Ronan Hodgson, Aran Bailey. L-R bottom Ann Cowell, Lee Slater, Kevin Brockbank

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Sir Stephen Timms writes to Insolvency Service over actions of Baaj Capital

Bodycare products resurface at a car boot in Blackpool

By Simon Drury

A senior Government minister has called for an investigation into collapsed health and beauty chain Bodycare.

Sir Stephen Timms - Minister of State for Social Security and Disability - has written to the Insolvency Service calling for the actions of the firm’s owners Baaj Capital to be probed.

The minister wrote to the service’s interim chief executive Alex Pybus after being approached by former Bodycare staff who lost their jobs when the firm closed its 147 UK shops making 1,500 workers redundant.

The Lancashire Lead revealed earlier this month that the taxpayer will foot the more than £37m bill for redundancy payments owed by Baaj Capital, which is owned by businessman Jaswinder Singh.

Staff - some of whom have worked for the firm for more than 30 years - must apply to the Government’s Redundancy Payments Service for payouts.

And just two weeks before Bodycare went into administration, Mr Singh put a charge on the company - meaning he will be paid before scores of suppliers who are owed money for unpaid invoices.

Now Sir Stephen has requested an investigation into the business activities of Baaj Capital.

He wrote: “I understand that employees were dismissed without consultation, wages were withheld and pension contributions for 2025 were not paid into staff pension funds.

“Many of the staff had worked for the company for decades and are now relying on food banks and Universal Credit.

“The estimated cost to the Government through the Redundancy Payments Service for Bodycare alone is said to be £37.5m.

“Former employees are troubled by what they describe as a pattern of behaviour by Baaj Capital across multiple companies and estimate that the cumulative cost to the Government from similar collapses may exceed £200m.”

And he asked Mr Pybus: “What steps is the Government taking to investigate the conduct of Baaj Capital and its directors?

“Is the Government aware that companies might be using acquisition structures to avoid liabilities and shift costs onto the taxpayer?”

Sir Stephen added: “I am told that Baaj Capital acquired Bodycare with finances secured against the company’s assets and working capital.

“This capital was then transferred into acquisition vehicles and used to expand the company’s portfolio.

“However, it is believed this was achieved without meaningful operational investment and that the company’s credit was subsequently maximised through loan and supplier orders before defaulting on payments.”