1500 Jobs At Risk, as Retail Chain Teeters on the Brink of Collapse....

The Health & Beauty Retailer who has a store in Hartlepool, could be plunged into insolvency in just days after the firm's bosses strive to put together a rescue deal.

27th August 2025

Hartlepool’s struggling High Street could be dealt yet another devastating blow, with national Health & Beauty retailer Bodycare said to be on the verge of insolvency, with bosses said to be scrambling to put together a last-minute rescue deal in the coming days to save the business.

The retailer, which operates around 150 stores nationwide – including outlets across Teesside and County Durham – faces the impending possibility of collapse, putting as many as 1,500 jobs at risk across the country.

For Hartlepool, the news comes against the backdrop of a rapidly declining retail sector. The town has already seen the closure of Holland & Barrett, Clintons Cards, and the impending loss of a local toy store as well as the fashion Retail Chain River Island, which is set to depart in January 2026, with large sections of the town centre now standing empty, leaving both shoppers and small businesses increasingly concerned for the area’s future.

Limited Stock on Shelves claim

Shoppers have reported seeing limited stock and empty shelves in some Bodycare branches across the region, fuelling speculation that supply chain issues are biting the business hard. Employees, meanwhile, have voiced frustration at claims they're being kept in the dark, with many saying they learned more about the company’s financial struggles through local or national media than from management itself.

If Bodycare was to disappear from the High Street, it would mark yet another hammer blow to the retail industry already under severe pressure.

Worryingly, industry insiders are warning that Poundland could be next, as the discount retail giant battles through its own debt restructuring plan.

For Teesside and County Durham, the potential collapse of yet another retailer adds to wider fears about the region’s economic stability. With job losses mounting in multiple sectors and an increasingly bleak outlook for town centres, many fear that the Government’s upcoming Autumn Budget Statement could cement a deepening recession in the North East.

What was once a vibrant retail hub is now becoming a picture of shuttered shops, lost livelihoods, and dwindling confidence – with Bodycare potentially the next casualty in a growing list of fallen High Street names.