Last month’s dramatic collapse into liquidation of the clinics owned by SK:N Group has set the stage for Scottish optometry entrepreneur David Moulsdale’s expansion into the medical aesthetics market.
The millionaire founder and chief executive of Optical Express confirmed via the group’s LinkedIn page that he had completed the acquisition of the remains of SK:N – including the sk:n, Harley Medical, Skinbrands, Skin Experts and ABC Medical brands – on July 29, just nine days after its former owners abruptly shut down operations. Prior to its closure, the SK:N website claimed it operated “the largest network of specialist skin care clinics in the UK”.
Mr Moulsdale said it was “the burden of debt” that killed SK:N, previously owned by private equity firm TriSpan. He has further vowed to rebuild the various businesses which previously provided work for approximately 800 people across 70 locations throughout the UK, including Scotland.
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A post at the time on SK:N’s website gave no other explanation than it had ceased trading after failing to secure investment. Customers and staff were both said to have been caught unaware, with appointments cancelled at short notice without refund and employees claiming on social media that they had lost their jobs without warning.
The most recent accounts available for Lasercare Clinics Harrogate, which traded as SK:N, covering the year to August 2022 show that the company had £35 million of debt that was due to be repaid in full by 2026. The pre-tax loss for that year amounted to £4.5m, down from £7.3m previously as the business worked to recover from Covid lockdown restrictions.
The operation expanded aggressively following its acquisition by London-based TriSpan in 2019, nearly doubling in size with the opening of 30 additional clinics. This compares to 40 openings in the three decades prior.
Increased competition from the rising number of smaller clinics, along with decreased consumer spending power amid the cost-of-living crisis, are also thought to have compounded SK:N’s difficulties.
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Optical Express currently has more than 100 clinics and Mr Moulsdale plans to reduce the number of SK:N Group clinics from 70 to approximately 60 by transferring business to some of his optometry locations.
“I appreciate there still remains uncertainty for our aesthetics business and all of you as valuable individuals, but we are working round the clock to get the clinics re-opened,” Mr Moulsdale said in the LinkedIn post in late July.
“We are communicating with absolute transparency and openness. I hope you can see this for yourselves.
“Several other bidders have contacted me or my team to ask if we are selling anything and the answer is a simple no. We are going to build the business again over time and we need all of you to help us do this. My team across all of our businesses are extremely excited and enthusiastic about this opportunity.”
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