Devastation as closure of Derby wellbeing business leaves customers and investors out of pocket
Customers and investors claim the sudden closure of a yoga and wellbeing business with a studio in Derby has left them thousands of pounds out of pocket. Bosses of Calm, which had a base in Liversage Street, Derby, sent a message to customers saying the decision had been taken to close due to "ongoing healthcare challenges".
The Derby branch was opened by owners Vanessa and Blair Davies in 2019 and followed the opening of a site in Burton. The business offered a range of different wellness services including yoga classes, reiki yoga classes and massages.
In a statement released on the Calm official website, the owners said the firm had ceased operations due to "health complications", adding: "A professional company is handling the closing of the company and all matters relating to it. All creditors will be contacted."
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Staffordshire Police said the matter was being looked into by Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime. Derby City Council advised anyone affected to contact its Trading Standards Team and Derbyshire Police said the force had received one complaint in relation to Calm.
Zoltan is one of those who was allegedly affected. He claimed he invested £11,000 of his life savings into Calm Yoga, expecting to see a 20 per cent return split across ten months. He wanted to be able to provide for his newborn son and wife, who is currently on maternity leave. However, Zoltan said he became increasingly worried over what he claims to be a lack of correspondence from the company's directors.
He said: "I bought a lifetime membership and it was around £500, then they had this offer for 20 per cent investment on whatever you put in. I saw they had two yoga studios so I decided it would be safe for me to invest. I am a warehouse worker and this took me years to save up. My wife and I have just had a baby. She is a nurse and is currently on maternity leave, so this is a lot of money for us.
"I'm just so shocked; I even messaged Blair in December as I didn't receive that month's payment; he assured me that I would be getting my money, but now I haven't heard anything. I'm just worried I'll never see my money again."
An agreement of the loan, which has been seen by Derbyshire Live, was signed between Zoltan and Blair Davies, of Elora Davies Group (CALM). It said that the lender promised to loan £11,000 to the borrower and the borrower promised to repay the amount to the lender "without interest payable on the unpaid principal".
The agreement began on November 16, 2024, with an extra clause in place of a "20% return on [the] £11,000 investment, returned on the November 16, 2024" - for £1,100 to be repaid over 10 equal payments, across 10 months.
However, Zoltan claims he only received one payment from the company - two weeks after he was initially supposed to.
One of the company's self-employed teachers, Nicola Brown, 48, also said she'd been affected by the closure. Ms Brown, who worked for the company for a year, said: "Issues started in November when payments just didn't come. We were just left in the dark. We haven't been able to communicate him [Blair] whatsoever, he blocked us, the business group we had has been shut down.
"I am just a small fry in the scheme of things, as I'm only owed around £800, but I know some people are owed thousands, and there has been nothing."
There are thought to be several companies set up by Blair and Vanessa Davies that have connections to Calm Yoga, with payments to teachers said to have often been directed from various sources such as Elora Davies LTD and Vanessa Davies LTD, which were used to pay teachers.
Another teacher, Buckso Dhillon-Woolley, from Alvaston, who is alleged to be owed hundreds in outstanding invoices, said they'd worked with the company for about year to put on workshops in January.
"I was owed around £700 by CALM for sessions that I had helped out with. As time went on, things started to go wrong, I saw that he needed more investors to repair the building and other little things," said Buckso.
Derbyshire Live has made numerous attempts to contact Mr and Mrs Davies for comment but did not receive a response. A statement on the company's website read: "After 10 incredible years of sharing yoga, wellness, and community with all of you, we are writing with heavy hearts to let you know that CALM will be closing its doors today. This decision was not made lightly.
"Due to ongoing health challenges, it has become clear that stepping away to focus on recovery and self-care is the best path forward. A professional company is handling the closing of the company and all matters relating to it. All creditors will be contacted."
Derby City Council has confirmed that no complaints have been made to its Trading Standards team in regards to Calm Yoga. A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: "Our Trading Standards team would advise consumers who have been affected to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, which is funded by the Government specifically to provide advice for consumers.
"The Citizens Advice Consumer Service also pass relevant information on to Trading Standards. They can be contacted by phone or online. More information can be found on their website.”
Derbyshire Police said that they'd received one complaint, but added a case of this type would normally be a matter to be investigated by the Insolvency Service. The Insolvency Service said it wasn't able able to comment.
Staffordshire Police said the matter was being looked into by Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime.