A MAJOR retailer with stores across Scotland is facing collapse amid a race to find a rescue deal.
Bodycare, which employs around 1500 people, could enter administration as soon as next week unless a buyer is found, Sky News reported.
The healthy and beauty retailer was founded in Lancashire over 50 years ago and has numerous stores across Scotland, including:
- Clydebank
- Dundee
- Dunfermline
- Dumfries
- Edinburgh
- East Kilbride
- Falkirk
- Glasgow
- Greenock
- Irvine
- Kirkcaldy
- Paisley
- Perth
- Stirling
City sources told Sky that Interpath, the advisory firm working with Bodycare and its owners for several months, was continuing to explore options for the business.
Currently, Bodycare is owned by Baaj Capital, a family office run by Jas Singh.
Bodycare's troubles come just weeks after the retailer secured a £7 million debt facility to buy it short-term breathing space.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the chain was "profitable"; however, it lost millions of pounds in the financial years immediately after.
Meanwhile, Bodycare received financial support from the taxpayer in the form of a multimillion-pound loan issued under one of the Treasury's pandemic funding schemes.
The chain is run by retail veteran Tony Brown, who held senior roles at BHS and Beales.
Bodycare has been contacted for comment.
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