New Bodycare boss vows to keep company in Lancashire and relaunch stores

Plus: the latest on local government reorganisation in the county, who is backing what?

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

We've covered the closure of Bodycare - a firm which started right here in Lancashire - extensively in these pages so it’s encouraging to be able to report some green shoots on the topic today.

That’s because the business has been bought. And while a move back into Buckshaw Village appears unlikely - for reasons we will get into - the idea of stores reopening in the near future is far less fanciful.

We also report on preferences of four Lancashire districts ahead of a reorganisation that none of them really want.

The Lancashire Lead can only keep reporting issues like this with the help of more paid subscribers. We report on important issues in depth and in a way that would not happen without us. In November, you can take a paid subscription and get 30% off - so there’s never been a better time to back us.

Lancashire briefing - reorganisation special

Councillors in Ribble Valley have been urged to back a vision for four brand-new unitary councils in Lancashire from 2028. Under the proposals, the borough would join Preston and Lancaster as one of four new unitary authorities. And according to a report by Ribble Valley Borough Council, it would be best alternative to the current county and district council system. Earlier this year in a debate, a majority of Ribble Valley councillors said they would like current Lancashire council arrangements to remain. But now they are being asked to endorse an alternative four unitary model, if change is unavoidable. It would have north, west, east and south councils.

Lancashire should be governed by four brand-new unitary authorities from 2028, according to recommendations for West Lancashire councillors. Creating four new authorities would be best for public services, efficient systems, financial savings, local economies and community identities, according to recommendations to West Lancashire councillors this week. But West Lancashire Borough Council has not put forward alternative ideas to join nearby Merseyside, despite various links with the Mersey region, such as transport, economic, education and social connections, including Skelmersdale’s historic Liverpool links.

Rossendale councillors are being urged to back a vision for three brand-new unitary councils in Lancashire from 2028. Under the proposals, detailed in a report by Rossendale Council, the authority would join Blackburn, Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle and the Ribble Valley. Creating three new unitary authorities for Pennine, central and coastal Lancashire areas, each with all their services under one roof, would be best for public services, efficiency, savings, local economies and community identities, according to the report.

Lancaster councillors are being asked to back an idea to create four new unitary councils across Lancashire from 2028, with Lancaster City Council joining Preston and the Ribble Valley. Having four new Lancashire ‘unitaries’, each with all services under one roof, would be best way forward, according to a new report for Lancaster City Council. New councils would cover north, west, east and south Lancashire, under the idea. Their preference matches that of Preston.

New Bodycare boss vows to keep company in Lancashire and relaunch stores

Bodycare in Preston before it was closed

By Simon Drury

The new boss of collapsed health and beauty chain Bodycare has promised the firm will remain based in Lancashire because locals know all about ‘rolling up their sleeves and getting on with it’.

The chain, which went into administration in August leading to the closure of 147 UK shops and 1,500 jobs, has been salvaged by an investment group led by Charles Denton.

Mr Denton, who heads an investment group, is the ex-CEO of luxury brand Molton Brown and The Body Shop.

The deal includes Bodycare’s brand and intellectual property although full financial details have not been disclosed.

However, part of the deal will include Bodycare remaining based in Lancashire.

Bodycare was based at an office and warehouse complex in Buckshaw Village.

After the firm went into administration, owners Baaj Capital moved another of their operations onto the site but it emerged this week that lorries owned or leased to the firm are still parked in Buckshaw Village although many of them no longer have valid MOTs.

Mr Denton plans to relaunch between 30-50 shops initially, with the majority in the North West. The first outlets will reopen early next year.

It’s hoped several hundred former Bodycare staff members will be rehired.

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.

Confirming his intentions to keep Bodycare in Lancashire, Mr Denton said: “This won’t be a stroll in the park.

“We’ve got a solid community, people who genuinely care about Bodycare and what it stands for. Given everything, that’s not a bad platform to build from.

“As a former Bodycare teammate said to me this week ‘Rome weren’t built in a day and all that and up here we know a thing or two about rolling up our sleeves and cracking on.’”

Administrators Interpath had originally said they had been unable to find a buyer for the stricken firm.

Last year, before entering administration, Bodycare posted sales of £133m.

However, onced the firm failed, taxpayers were left footing the £37m bill to pay off staff through the Redundancy Payments Service.

Sir Stephen Timms - Minister of State for Social Security and Disability - wrote to the Insolvency Service calling for the actions of Baaj Capital to be investigated.

The minister wrote to the service’s interim chief executive Alex Pybus after being approached by former Bodycare staff who revealed that former Bodycare bosses had put a charge on the firm just two weeks before going into administration.

In addition, it was discovered that directors had registered another firm at the Buckshaw Village site.