Business
Beauty chain Bodycare to close 32 stories in administration
Faarea MasudBusiness reporter, BBC News
AlamyStruggling health and beauty chain Bodycare says it will immediately shut 32 of its stores across the UK and make 450 staff redundant, after going into administration.
Known for being a bargain stop for cosmetics and beauty products, including big tubs of popular moisturisers and conditioners displayed on floor-to-ceiling shelves, the firm has about 1,500 employees.
It has 147 bricks-and-mortar shops which have become too expensive to maintain amidst rising rents.
The company’s administrators said retailers were facing “challenging times” with rising costs and fierce competition for consumer spending.
The firm, established in Lancashire in 1970, said the majority of its stores will continue to trade as normal while it explores “options” including looking for a buyer.
Bodycare will shut stores in places including Croydon, Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, Scunthorpe and Wrexham.
The news comes after the US owner of accessories and jewellery store Claire’s, which also has a prominent High Street presence, said it secured a buyer after filing for bankruptcy, suffering from higher costs in its supply chain.
Poundland recently avoided collapsing into administration after its turnaround plan was approved days before the chain was due to run out of money.
Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading.
“Unfortunately for Bodycare, which was also contending with a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome.”
Bodycare’s no-nonsense store layouts are known for their bright lighting, and window displays that often feature piles of toilet tissue or pyramids of washing up powder.
It also offers warehouse-style display shelves packed with goods like lip balm, perfume, false nails and foot cream.
But its administration highlights how tough the “value sector of retail is finding both trading conditions and the cost of operating on UK high streets”, said retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth.
“Competition is fierce for every pound spent by shoppers on health and beauty products”, she said, adding that competition was “strong” from the likes of Boots to B&M.
She said younger shoppers were moving more towards TikTok for their health and beauty products – but, Bodycare’s administrators admitted, a move to online was something it struggled with.
Ms Shuttleworth added that along with the rising cost of labour, the impact of shoplifting continued to grow.
Last month, fashion chain River Island said it would close 33 stores in a restructuring move after struggling with high costs and multi-million pound losses.
Retail analyst Natalie Berg said there was “no room for complacency” in the current retail landscape.
“In today’s market, standing still is falling behind. You have to continuously evolve if you want to stay relevant to your customers.”
The stores which are to close with immediate effect are:
- Beverley
- Cameron Toll
- Cannock
- Clydebank
- Cramlington
- Croydon
- Darwen
- Dumfries
- Edinburgh
- Erdington
- Falkirk
- Hemel Hempstead
- Kirkcaldy
- Loughborough
- Lytham St Annes
- Macclesfield
- Maidstone
- Morecambe
- Newport
- Northfield
- Paisley
- Parkhead
- Perth
- Port Talbot
- Rhyl
- Royton
- Scunthorpe
- Stourbridge
- Tamworth
- West Bromwich
- Wood Green
- Wrexham
New Delhi: As per RBI holiday list, bank branches will be closed for certain days on account of Diwali and related festivities like kali puja, kati bihu, Bhai dooj, across the nation. Bank branches in several cities will be closed on account of Diwali Balipratipada today, 22 October 2025.
When will bank branches be closed over the next few days?
Bank branches will be closed on various accounts in different parts of the country on various days between 21 and 23 October for Diwali festivities. Here’s the detailed list.
Banks will be closed for Diwali (Bali Pratipada)/Vikram Samvant New Year Day/Govardhan Pooja/Balipadyami, Laxmi Puja (Deepawali) on October 22 in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar.
Banks were closed in Assam for Kati Bihu on october 18. In several cities –Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir–banks were also closed for Diwali Amavasya (Laxmi Pujan)/Deepawali/Govardhan Pooja on October 21
Bhai Bij/Bhaidooj/Chitragupt Jayanti/Laxmi Puja (Deepawali)/Bhratridwitiya/Ningol Chakkouba: October 23
In the remaining days of October, banks will be closed for the following festivities
Chath Puja (Evening Puja): October 27
Chath Puja (Morning Puja): October 28
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Birthday: October 31
Apart from the above bank holidays, the second and fourth Saturdays, Sundays of the month are falling on the following dates:
Sunday: October19
Fourth Saturday: October 25
Sunday: October 26
Holidays of the mentioned days will be observed in various regions according to the state declared holidays, however for the gazetted holidays, banks will be closed all over the country.
If you keep a track of these holidays, you would be able to plan bank transaction activities in a better way. For long weekends, you can even plan your holidays well.
Business
Asian stocks today: Markets slide as US-China tensions intensify; HSI falls 1%, Nikkei sheds over 260 points – The Times of India
Asian equities slipped on Wednesday as investors took a step back following recent gains, while gold and silver tumbled for a second straight day, halting their recent rally. The pullback came after US President Donald Trump suggested that a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping might not go ahead. Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei and Manila all fell. Tokyo also saw a decline, with profit-taking after a strong rally triggered by Japan’s easing political tensions.Nikkei was down 269 points or 0.55%, reaching 49,046 after conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected as Japan’s new prime minister.Hong Kong’s HSI trimmed 342 points or 1.32% to trade at 25,684. Shanghai and Shenzhen also slipped 0.44% and 0.81%, respectively.Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi traded flat, adding 3 points to reach 3,827 at 9:26 AM IST.In commodities, gold, which has surged more than 60% since the start of the year and hit multiple records, fell sharply. At one point on Wednesday it dropped to $4,000 an ounce, down from Tuesday’s record peak of $4,381.51. Silver, which has been riding gold’s rally, also fell. The gold rally had been driven by a weaker dollar, expectations of interest rate cuts, falling bond yields and central bank buying. Lingering concerns about the global economy and a fear of missing out also boosted its safe-haven appeal. Trump’s remarks added to market caution. He said on Tuesday that he expected a “good” trade deal with Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea next week. “I think we’re going to have a very successful meeting. Certainly, there are a lot of people that are waiting for it.” He then added, “Maybe it won’t happen. Things can happen where, for instance, maybe somebody will say, ‘I don’t want to meet. It’s too nasty’. But it’s really not nasty.”
Jonah FisherEnvironment correspondent
Getty ImagesFining English water companies for spilling raw sewage will soon become quicker and easier, the government has said.
New proposals would see automatic fines of up to £20,000 issued for some minor offences and make it simpler to punish more serious ones.
In recent years data from the water industry’s own monitoring equipment has shown how frequently rules are broken around sewage spills. But the regulator, the Environment Agency, has by its own admission struggled to act.
“I want to give the Environment Agency the teeth it needs to tackle all rule breaking,” said Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, announcing the proposals.
“With new, automatic and tougher penalties for water companies, there will be swift consequences for offences – including not treating sewage to the required standard, and maintenance failures,” she said.
The plans will be put to a six-week public consultation starting on Wednesday.
The English water companies welcomed the proposals, with a spokesperson for trade body Water UK saying: “It is right that water companies are held to account when things go wrong.”
Getty ImagesFor the most serious pollution offences, the enforcement system remains the same. The EA has to take water companies to court and prove to a criminal standard that an offence has been committed “beyond a reasonable doubt”. If that prosecution results in a conviction the company could have to pay a large fine, possibly in the millions of pounds.
The new proposals are focused on more minor offences which happen frequently and have in the past gone largely unpunished.
The plans would see automatic financial penalties of up to £20,000 introduced for rule breaches such as failure to report a significant pollution incident within four hours, failure to report spill data properly or if emergency overflow outlets discharge sewage more than three times in a year.
For some more serious offences the government wants to make it easier for the EA to take action.
So it’s proposing that the burden of proof be reduced from “beyond all reasonable doubt” – the norm for criminal proceedings – to “on the balance of probabilities”, which is used in civil cases. The fines which the EA can impose without going to court could be increased to a maximum of half a million pounds.
The reduced burden of proof for some offences is already written into law, having been part of the Water (Special Measures) Act which received Royal Assent in February 2025. This six-week consultation is to determine which offences should be included, and the level of the fines.
“Fines of £500,000 are pocket change to billion-pound companies like Thames Water,” says James Wallace, the CEO of campaign group River Action.
“Higher penalties and urgent, wholesale reform are essential to prevent negligent firms polluting our rivers and short-changing their customers.”
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Bank Holiday Diwali Balipratipada: Are Branches Closed Or Open In Your City
Asian stocks today: Markets slide as US-China tensions intensify; HSI falls 1%, Nikkei sheds over 260 points – The Times of India
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