New company led by former Bodycare owner moves into former HQ

PLUS: Ten care facilities face closure under Reform UK plans

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

Today we report on the news that a new company has moved into Bodycare’s Buckshaw Village HQ - and its owner is a recognisable face.

The move will likely be viewed as a slap in the face to employees still waiting to be paid after the beauty chain entered administration.

Some of those former staff now believe a legal battle will be the only way they recover their owed earnings.

Plans that could see ten elderly care facilities across Lancashire close have caused disquiet among residents and families, many of whom are adamant that the facilities are well-regarded.

But Reform UK says that they are in a ‘significantly poor condition’ and the cost of investment would be prohibitively substantial.

It is, it’s fair to say, not the type of saving that voters thought they were in for when they went to ballot box in May.

Legal battle ahead as Bodycare staff try to secure unpaid wages

The former Bodycare at Buckshaw Village

By Simon Drury

Health and beauty chain Bodycare has now moved out of its Buckshaw Village HQ - only to be replaced by another company run by owner Jaswinder Singh.

Amscan International - which produces party products and fancy dress - was based near Milton Keynes but has now taken over Bodycare’s former centre of operations.

Mr Singh is listed as Amscan’s sole officer at Companies House.

Last week it was revealed that the taxpayer will foot the £37m bill for redundancy payments due to 1,500 Bodycare staff who lost their jobs when the firm closed its 147 UK shops, blaming rising costs and lack of customers.

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 workers were shocked to discover Mr Singh heads the list of the company’s creditors, claiming the firm owes him £7m.

That means Mr Singh - who owns Castleford-based Baaj Capital which runs Bodycare - will be paid off once tax bills have been settled ahead of staff and suppliers.

Companies House data shows Singh put a charge against the company in August - just two weeks before it went into administration.

And it has been discovered that both 50-year-old Mr Singh and fellow director, retail expert Tony Brown, 67, who had a senior role at collapsed BHS have been named as directors of a new firm called Value Beauty Limited, which gives its company address as the current business location of Bodycare on Western Avenue, Buckshaw Village.

They were incorporated as directors at the end of August.

Now angry staff have engaged Manchester-based solicitors Atticus Law to represent them in a class action against Mr Singh in a bid to recover unpaid wages and pension contributions.

And they have enlisted the support of Sir Stephen Timms - Minister of State for Social Security and Disability - in their fight for justice.

Former employee Nicholas Power said: “One of the main reasons we are seeking legal advice is that we were denied a statutory consultation period for redundancy.

“We were just told our jobs were going and that was it. All traces of Bodycare are gone at Buckshaw Village and another firm run by Baaj Capital has moved in.

“It doesn’t seem right that a firm can be closed down at a minute’s notice only for the owners to move another company in and leave the Government to pick up the bill for redundancy.

“I have met Sir Stephen in the last week and he is very keen to highlight our case.”

Bodycare was founded in Skelmersdale in 1970 by Graham and Margaret Blackledge and operated as a family firm until four years ago. It built its reputation on offering affordable branded products from household names like L’Oreal, Elizabeth Arden and Nivea.

It was sold after failing to ride out the pandemic when high street shops were closed for months.

The shutters were lowered for the last time when administrators Interpath announced they had been unable to find a buyer for the firm.

A spokesperson said: “The joint administrators have continued to liaise with a number of parties who have expressed interest in the business, including interest in the Bodycare brand.

“While these discussions remain ongoing, it is with regret that the administrators confirm that a sale of the stores is now unlikely.

“Given the shortage of stock and significant costs associated with operating stores, it is no longer viable to continue to trade the business.

“Regrettably, all 444 members of staff at these locations will be made redundant upon the closing of their respective stores. The administrators will continue to provide all support to those impacted, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”

Bodycare’s creditors include a long list of suppliers One recently blocked the entrance to Bodycare’s headquarters and refused to move until his £29,000 bill was paid. Lorries were also blockaded at Leyland DAF over unpaid bills.

One former Bodycare employee - who worked at the firm for more than a decade - said staff were angry the taxpayer would be forced to pick up the bill for their redundancy payments.

He said: “It is disgraceful the owner have been allowed to destroy such a well established firm owing hundreds of thousands of pounds to suppliers and creditors and tens of millions of pounds to hard working and loyal members of staff. And to be told that Jaswinder Singh will be paid out before members of staff and creditors is the final kick in the teeth for people who have been at Bodycare for all or most of their working lives.

“There needs to be a change in the law to stop this kind of thing happening.”

Negative reviews of Baaj Capital have been posted online by former Bodycare staff.

One post claimed: “Their business model is based upon buying businesses for cheap. They will not reinvest in your brand and do not care about growth.

“They will drive your business into the ground and wind it up and move onto the next vulnerable business.”

The Lancashire Lead made multiple attempts to speak to Baaj Capital.

Lancashire briefing

👨🏻‍🎓 Students expecting to move into a new development were forced to find other accommodation after a delay in its completion. The Sail Works in Parliament Street in Lancaster was due to open last month, in time for students arriving in the city for the new university year. However, students instead were told last month they would not be able to move into their new home until November. Full story here.

🪓Plans for a host of outdoor pursuits including tomahawk axe-throwing, air rifle shooting and archery at a forest school site in Rossendale have prompted safety fears. Simon Moorhouse is seeking planning permission from Rossendale Council to change the use of industrial land at Meadows Mill on Burnley Road, Bacup, into a site for outdoor education and leisure for adults and children, including those with special needs. Robbie has the tale.

⛸️ Preston will see the return of an ice rink to the city centre in the run up to Christmas for the first time in over a decade. But the space currently used by the outdoor traders is potentially going to be used for other temporary events in the years ahead too while the traders are relocated – a move which has riled the market stallholders. Blog Preston has the response.

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Reform UK plans to cut care facilities extremely worrying for residents

Grove House in Adlington

By Paul Faulkner & Luke Beardsworth

Ten elderly care facilities run by Lancashire County Council could be closed as part of a wholesale review of the authority’s services for older people.

Cabinet members will next week decide whether to launch a consultation on the proposed “reprovision” of five residential homes and five day centres.

According to papers to be presented to a meeting on Thursday, the care homes – Favordale (Colne), Grove House (Adlington), Milbanke (Kirkham), Thornton House (Thornton Cleveleys) and Woodlands (Clayton-le-Moors) – have been selected because they are in “significantly poor condition”.