Bodycare goes into administration and all the other events from the past seven days are right here for you to catch up on.
The weather and increasingly dark mornings and evenings remind us that we’re definitely into Autumn now.
And while we hope you have some serious plans for a productive rest of the year, we hope you’ve still got a few quiet moments to catch up on all the important and interesting business & insolvency news stories you might have missed from the past seven days.
So if you want to know what essential facts directors facing a CCJ need to know; how an MVL unlocks tax efficiency for directors; six essential considerations about Directors’ Loan Accounts in insolvency and how even though it’s Autumn, you can give your business a late summer boost – you can read all these stories and more at our advice centre page.
Bodycare Update
Following last week’s decision to go into administration, Bodycare have confirmed that 32 of their 147 stores will close with immediate effect with the loss of 450 positions.
The remaining stores will continue to trade while administrators assess options for the business.
The company has faced a number of challenges in recent years which have negatively impacted its financial position. This included rising costs, including rent and people costs, a delayed transition to its online retail platform and the cost-of-living crisis impacting its customer base.
Additionally, a planned IPO in 2024 was aborted which led to a shortfall in funding and in turn, placed strain on supplier relationships resulting in a shortage of stock.
A statement issued on behalf of Bodycare said: “These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading. Unfortunately Bodycare was also contending with a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure and these challenges proved too difficult to overcome.”
Richard Griffiths Houseplants
A North Yorkshire garden retailer has ceased trading and entered administration with all seven positions lost.
Richard Griffiths Houseplants were based in Knaresborough and specialised in houseplants, garden furniture and related products.
The business released a statement saying “Richard Griffiths Houseplants operated within a third-party garden centre at Calcutt and the operations of other retailers on the site remain unaffected.
“They were a well-regarded name in the sector but the business was significantly impacted by a downturn in consumer spending. In light of the trading challenges, the business was placed into administration and the administrators are now focused on an orderly wind down of operations and realisation of the company’s remaining assets.”
Home Curtains UK
A Nottinghamshire based home furnishings business has gone into voluntary liquidation after being unable to find a rescue deal.
Home Curtains UK Limited were founded in Sutton-in-Ashfield in 1986 and imported and sold curtains, accessories and lace.
Directors had hoped to preserve some part of the business through investment or a sale but this has proved impossible as they struggled with high inflation, low customer spending and inclement weather affecting supplies.
Vericall
A call centre based in Kirkcaldy has gone into administration and ceased trading with immediate effect.
VeriCall specialised in subscription sales, customer service and social media management but is going into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 78 positions.
The business was founded in London in 2017 before moving their business headquarters to Fife in 2019.
SOFY 82 Ltd
A London based cleaning company which claimed to be one of the top cleaning companies in the UK has been investigated and closed by the Insolvency Service for taking money but not carrying out services.
SOFY 82 Ltd promised customers that they would receive a full return on their rental deposit from their landlords and receive a “100% refund guarantee” if they hired them to clean their property when they moved out.
An Insolvency Service investigation found that at least 28 customers had made part or full payments of between £80 and £400 totalling £5,101.
In each case, cleaning services weren’t carried out or provided to a poor standard and any requests for refunds were refused, sometimes aggressively. Some customers had also been pressured into making payments in full after receiving a quote from sole director Sofka Ivanova Popova.
The company was successfully wound-up in the High Court in London on September 2nd 2025.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Edna Okhiria said: “Through false and misleading claims, occasional use of aggressive sales tactics and providing a poor service, SOFY 82 UK Ltd took thousands of pounds from unsuspecting customers.
“There were clear concerns about the company, not least the evidence of customers not receiving requested refunds and having paid for a service that wasn’t provided.
“This successful winding up order ensures that no-one else is affected by this company’s poor business practices and hopefully deters others from operating in the same manner.
H E Simm & Son
A 70-year-old Liverpool engineering business has gone into administration with the loss of 128 positions.
HE Simm & Son Ltd worked on large scale projects across the uk, making £110 million of revenue in the last financial year.
Chief Executive Gareth Simm said: “Since the company was founded in 1948, HE Simm has been built on the talent, hard work and loyalty of its people. Over the decades we’ve delivered countless landmark projects together not only in the North West but all over the UK. We’re very proud of our reputation for excellence and quality and for always ensuring that our culture and values were at the heart of everything we did.
“Sadly, recent circumstances have placed enormous pressure on the business that we have been unable to withstand. These have included a combination of factors; failure of a key client; the loss of a number of projects; delays to major schemes; increasingly commercially challenging client behaviours and losses on London projects. Some of these challenges have been ongoing for a number of years.
“As shareholders and a family, we’ve fought very hard and invested heavily over the last two years in an attempt to avoid today’s outcome, but in the end the harsh reality of the construction industry, the tight margins we operate at and the pressures as described, left us with no choice but to appoint administrators.”
SOS Wholesale
One of the UK’s largest wholesalers based in Derby has ceased trading and gone into administration.
SOS Wholesale is a family business supplying over 5,000 lines from its 70,000 sq ft warehouse but has ceased trading with 117 positions being made redundant. The firm’s senior leadership and sales teams have joined another business en masse.
Founded in 1996, the business provided an extensive range of branded products including groceries, soft drinks, toiletries, household goods and confectionery. Recently the company faced rising input costs and changing consumer spending habits. With cashflow and profitability under pressure, they were unable to meet their financial obligations as they fell due so the decision was made to place the business into administration.
A statement said: “The retail sector is currently facing a number of challenges with this being felt up and down the supply chain. While SOS Wholesale had established itself as one of the largest wholesalers in the market, the challenges it faced and the impact on its finances proved insurmountable.
“Regrettably, the business was not in a position to continue trading and the majority of staff have been made redundant. We are exploring options for a possible sale of the business and its assets.”
Greenbank
A group of four Derbyshire engineering businesses which have been operating for over 70 years have gone into administration with 17 redundancies.
Greenbank Terotech, Greenbank Engineering Services, Ammegen and The Greenbank Group UK Holdings are part of the arrangement and follow another Greenbank company – Franklyn Yates Engineering – which went into administration earlier this year.
The group provided a range of engineering services including design, manufacturing, supply and installation services to the bulk-handling, power, energy from waste, rail, water and wastewater industries from their headquarters in Swadlincote.
Over recent years, trading conditions have been challenging resulting in building cash flow pressure during 2025. Despite efforts being made to find a buyer, this proved unsuccessful. Administrators confirmed that they will retain some staff to finalise work in progress, collect debts and explore options for whole or part sale.”
Cannon Clark Architects
A Norwich architectural firm has entered voluntary liquidation after the business became “unsustainable” due to rising costs and increasing planning delays.
A statement from Cannon Clarke Architects said: “It was fairly obvious from March that there was going to be a decrease in workload. Increased government taxation and the cost of our employees and resources has led to a perfect storm of low income against increased cost of business. This prevented us from taking on staff but ultimately the bigger picture led to a decline in enquiries and workload.
“It is also becoming increasingly difficult for developers to fund planning applications due to the cost of making an application, which has deterred them from doing what they want to do. As a consequence, our enquiries have decreased and the upfront cost of the additional reports and validation requirements has put off our developers and private clients. The time it takes within the system also hasn’t helped. Nutrient neutrality has had an impact with applications sitting in the pipeline for months if not years.”
The company was founded in 2015 trading as TGA Architecture before rebranding as Cannon Clarke in 2018. Six employees have been made redundant as a result.
Woodspeen Training/Jarvis Training Management
Two training providers backed by the same Swiss investment firm have ceased trading and gone into voluntary liquidation after the Department of Education terminated their apprenticeship contracts.
175 positions will be made redundant as a result.
A statement from both trading providers said the decision followed “recent Department of Education decisions under the apprenticeships accountability framework.
“The outcome reflects historic performance challenges, particularly around timeliness measures that lag behind operational improvements.
“Since April this year, the new leadership team has refocused the business on its core strengths, strengthened governance and launched intensive learner support initiatives. Despite these efforts, the formal review concluded before improvements could be sufficiently evidenced.
“Our priority now is to work closely with the DoE to transfer learners smoothly to alternative providers and support staff through the transition.”
Woodspeen Training had been operating for over 30 years in the Manchester and Liverpool regions in the business, care, health and fitness sectors.
Jarvis Training Management (JTM) is owned by Woodspeen but has been running since the 1980’s offering beauty therapy courses. Ofsted had recently criticised both saying that “too many learners and apprentices failed to complete and achieve within the planned time.”
Both entities were ultimately owned by Alphen Trust, an independent investment advisory and asset management company based in Zurich.
There are still four months left in 2025 – which is still plenty of time for a business owner or director to find out what changes they can make to help strengthen or rebuild their business.
Get in touch with us today to chat with one of our advisors about what options you’ve got on the table – usually more than you realise!
The sooner you make contact, the sooner you can begin.