UK beauty, footwear, video game, potato and flooring firms enter administration

Mixed · 2Several UK businesses have entered administration, in a roundup published by the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror under the same byline (Mia O'Hare), which says firms are collapsing amid falling revenues and rising costs. 1 2 Mixed · 2Aromantic, a Forres, Scotland seller of natural and organic beauty ingredients founded in 1997 with a £1.1million turnover, has ceased trading. Christopher Horner and Kevin Pinkerton of Business Rescue Expert are joint administrators. All 11 staff were made redundant immediately before the administration, and the assets (stock, websites and online platforms) were sold to an unrelated party. 1 2 Mixed · 2Pinkerton said falling revenue and rising raw material, shipping and employment costs contributed to the insolvency. He added that short-term loans taken to stay afloat hurt cashflow, and that a formal insolvency process was the only option. 1 2

Mixed · 2Laced Europe Ltd, a marketplace for rare trainers founded in 2015 with £9million turnover this year, entered administration last month, when Quantuma's Terri Mulgrew and Michael Kiely were appointed joint administrators on 22 September. A pre-pack sale has since protected all jobs: the seven staff transferred under TUPE to the buyer, A Beauty Inc Ltd, part of AA Investments group. 1 2 Mixed · 2An AA Investment Group spokesperson called Laced "a strong brand with a real community behind it" and said the service is coming back step by step. 1 2 Mixed · 2Build A Rocket Boy (BARB), the Edinburgh studio founded in 2016 by former Grand Theft Auto developer Leslie Benzies, has entered administration a year after releasing its first game, MindsEye, in June 2025. The game was branded "the worst game" of the year and "relentlessly dull" by some players, and 250 to 300 staff were reportedly laid off after launch. 1 2

Mixed · 2Opus Restructuring was appointed administrator, and 36 further jobs were lost. It said 49 of the company's 85 employees were retained on appointment, that it intends to keep trading while exploring options to maximise value for creditors, and that redundant staff will be supported in claiming statutory entitlements. 1 2 Mixed · 2Glens of Antrim potatoes, established in 1972, has stopped trading in administration, citing pressures with a "significant and detrimental impact on cashflow". All staff except a small skeleton team were made redundant. Interpath's Stuart Irwin, a joint administrator, called it a "tremendously sad outcome". 1 2 Mixed · 2Ceco, a Northern Ireland flooring subsidiary of Headlam Group founded in 1978, has also entered administration; Headlam had previously done so. Interpath's Ian Leonard said the priority is to support affected employees, work with customers and suppliers on outstanding orders, and explore options for the brand and assets. 1 2