Major cosmetic chain on the brink of collapse

Body Catalyst, a non-surgical cosmetic medicine chain with 29 clinics across Australia has gone into administration, with major concerns for the company’s future.

The 45 companies associated with the business, which was founded by Samantha Barakat Light in 2015, fell into administration last Thursday.

Eight locations closed earlier this year and an urgent assessment is underway to see if more need to shut down.

Body Catalyst clinics operate in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

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Administrator Alan Walker, from WLP Restructuring, told news.com.au that the business was continuing to trade “at the moment” while the administrators are “making an urgent assessment as to the financial viability of each of the clinics”.

He said he hopes to restructure the company “in order to save jobs and as many clinics as possible”.

Mr Walker said that it is “still very early days” and he is still assessing the company’s financial position.

A meeting of creditors has been scheduled for December 19, and Mr Walker said employees, landlords, the Australian Taxation Office and suppliers are among the company’s creditors.

A total of 10 Body Catalyst clinics are located in Westfield shopping centres, so Westfield owner Scentre Group is likely to be among the major creditors along with other large property groups including Stockland and GPT Group.

Creditors can make the decision to put the company into liquidation however Mr Walker said that he is “hopeful the correct decision will be made” and the business can be saved.

Mr Walker said the company hit trouble earlier this year and its “revenue has come off significantly” as the cost of living crunch hit its clients.

He said cosmetic procedures are a “sensitive spend decision” for consumers cutting back on discretionary spending, and the company had “built up a large amount of fixed overhead costs due to the resources required” to operate a chain of this size.

In May, the company closed at least eight locations, Mr Walker said, however news.com.au investigations suggest up to 17 may have been closed, in what appears to be a last ditch bid to keep the company afloat.

Ms Barakat Light also stepped down as Body Catalyst CEO in May, a role she had held since founding the business.

“After serving as CEO for a considerable amount of time, I have decided to transition from running the day-to-day operations of the business in the role of CEO, into a behind-the-scenes role where I can focus more on the big picture, the vision, the strategy and the future of the business,” she posted on LinkedIn in May.

“While I have certainly grown in my role as CEO, my true passion lies in driving the vision of a company not in the day to day execution. I have come to the realisation that my natural strengths and abilities are best suited for this new role.”

Ms Barakat Light was replaced by Badia Kita who joined the company in 2022 to head up its New Zealand expansion, where it operates two clinics which are not in administration.

In Victoria the company operates 15 clinics at Airport West Westfield, Armadale, Doncaster Westfield, Geelong, Glen Waverley, Hampton, Hawthorn, Ivanhoe, Melbourne Central, Moonee Ponds, Mornington, Port Melbourne, South Yarra, Southland Westfield and Williamstown.

There are nine clinics in NSW, at Bondi Westfield, Burwood Westfield, Camden, Castle Hill, Kotara Westfield, Mosman, Penrith Westfield, Shellharbour and Warringah Westfield.

In Queensland, there are five clinics at Chermside Westfield, Mount Gravatt Westfield, New Farm, Paddington and Robina.

Body Catalyst provides non surgical cosmetic treatments such as fat freezing, cellulite reduction, non surgical facelifts, notox, skin rejuvenation, skin tightening, body contouring, pelvic floor strengthening, muscle definer, fat cavitation and treatment for chronic back pain.

The treatments, for men and women range in price from hundreds to several thousands of dollars.

The company also offers clients a membership program from $59 a week, which gives customers access to free and discounted treatments and other perks.

Mr Walker said customers concerned about future appointments should contact their local clinic, but any affected customers will also receive communications from the administrators in the coming days.

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