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Five Sk:n Group companies in liquidation: information for patients, employees and creditors

Information for patients and their relatives and carers, employees and creditors of the five Sk:n Group of companies in liquidation.

Winding-up orders were made against five companies from the Sk:n Group of companies on Thursday 18 July 2024.  

The court appointed the Official Receiver, Joseph Sullivan, as liquidator of:  

  • Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited (company number 02545572)  

  • LCHMG Limited (company number 12325705)  

  • ABC Lasers Ltd. (company number 04795786)  

  • Cosmeceuticals Limited (company number 06114019)  

  • Cellite Clinic Limited (company number 03639621)  

The companies in liquidation traded under the following brands: Sk:n, HMG, Skinbrands, The Skin Experts, ABC Medical and ABC Lasers.  

The Official Receiver’s priority is to wind-down the companies in accordance with his statutory duties, for the benefit of the companies’ creditors. He also has a duty to inquire into the conduct of current and former directors. 

The remaining Sk:n Group companies continue to trade as normal. 

On 25th July 2024 the Official Receiver as liquidator entered into an asset sale agreement whereby the majority of trading assets owned by Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited, LCHMG Limited, ABC Lasers Ltd, Cosmeceuticals Limited, and Cellite Clinic Limited were sold to Lorena Cosmetics Holdings SPV Limited, part of the Lorena Investment Group.

Information for patients requiring post-operative care  

Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited, LCHMG Limited, ABC Lasers Ltd, Cosmeceuticals Limited, and Cellite Clinic Limited are in liquidation and all medical services provided by them have now ceased to operate.  

If you are a patient and require post-operative medical care you should contact your consultant,or referring medical practitioner.  

For any urgent care needs contact NHS 111 or 999 in the event of an emergency. 

On 25th July 2024 the Official Receiver as liquidator entered into an asset sale agreement whereby the majority of trading assets owned by Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited, LCHMG Limited, ABC Lasers Ltd, Cosmeceuticals Limited, and Cellite Clinic Limited were sold to Lorena Cosmetics Holdings SPV Limited, part of the Lorena Investment Group.

Histology patients: The Lorena Clinical Services team will seek to contact all patients that have had moles removed in the period 1st June 2024 to 17th July 2024, to assist in the progress of each patient. If you are in this group and have not been contacted by 26th August 2024 please contact the Lorena Cosmetics Clinical Services Team  at clinicalservices@lorenacosmetics.com  

Isotretinoin patients: The Lorena Clinical Services team will seek to contact all patients that have been prescribed Isotretinoin (Roaccutane) since February 2024 and will seek to assist to progress the management of each patient. If you have not been contacted by 26th August please contact clinicalservices@lorenacosmetics.com

Information for patients with cancelled operations 

If you are a patient and your operation has been cancelled, you should contact the medical practitioner that referred you. 

Cosmetic procedures are not generally provided by the NHS. 

Information for patients and customers who have paid for services not yet received 

If you are a patient who has paid for a course of treatment that has not been completed, you are a creditor and more information can be found in the Information for creditors section. 

In addition, if you have paid for this treatment by debit or credit card your purchase may be protected. Please contact your bank or card provider for further assistance.  

Information for customers who have entered into credit agreements to pay for services 

If you are a customer or patient who has paid for treatment under a credit agreement you should contact your finance company.  

If you are successful in reclaiming funds from your finance company the amount received will reduce the value of your claim in the liquidation.

Information for employees 

You can apply to the Insolvency Service for redundancy and other payments if: 

  • you worked for one of the following companies in liquidation under an employment contract: Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited, LCHMG Limited, ABC Lasers Ltd. Cosmeceuticals Limited, and Cellite Clinic Limited. 

  • you live in England, Scotland or Wales. 

You cannot apply to the Insolvency Service if you live in Northern Ireland. Find out about your rights in Northern Ireland if your employer is insolvent

We have guidance to help explain what to do if you are made redundant. This includes information on: 

  • who is eligible to receive redundancy payments 

  • what redundancy payments you can apply for 

How to apply for redundancy payments 

The Redundancy Payments service have been provided with contact details for employees of the companies. They will send a factsheet and cover letter by email to those individual we have been given email addresses for. The factsheet contains details of how to apply and what information you should have to hand before you start your application.

If you are an employee of the group but have not yet submitted an application nor received any communication inviting you to apply, then please contact the Official Receiver.

To contact the Official Receiver for this information, please email:skn-hmg-employees@insolvency.gov.uk

The Official Receiver will ask you for your full name, National Insurance number, date of birth, the company you were employed by and employee number before issuing you with a case reference number.   

Once you have the case reference number, you can apply online. 

We have information explaining how we calculate and make payments to you

You can also find information about helping you find work and claim benefits.

Paying your claim 

On average it takes 12 days to process and pay claims. However, sometimes we need to get additional information which can take a bit of time. We will contact you directly if we need anything further from you. We always try to pay eligible claims within six weeks of receiving the application. 

To allow us to deal with everyone’s application as quickly as possible, please do not contact us to check the status of your application until after the six weeks have passed. 

Getting help with your application for redundancy payments 

If you need help completing your application, you can contact the Redundancy Payments helpline on 0330 331 0020. 

When calling, please have your case reference number and National Insurance number to hand. 

You can also contact us using our online contact form

If you need to email us after submitting your claim, only use the email address you gave on your application form. Otherwise, we won’t be able to respond to you for security reasons. 

Other support available to you 

Information about helping you find work and claim benefits

Information for creditors 

You will need to register as a creditor in the liquidations of Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited, LCHMG Limited, ABC Lasers Ltd. Cosmeceuticals Limited, and Cellite Clinic Limited if: 

  • you have paid for a course of treatment which you have not received in full from one of the companies in liquidation 

  • you have paid one or more of the five companies in liquidation for goods or services that you have not received 

  • you are a worker or self-employed contractor who provided services to one or more of the five companies in liquidation 

To register as a creditor you will need to complete a Proof of Debt form which you should then email to: skn-hmg@insolvency.gov.uk

Updates to this page

Published 18 July 2024
Last updated 16 August 2024 + show all updates
  1. Updated information including Information for patients requiring post-operative care and Information for customers who have entered into credit agreements to pay for services

  2. Update to redundancy payment claim information

  3. First published.