YOUNG & Pure, the natural skincare products company launched by Suffolk-based entrepreneur Lianne Miller, has been wound-up in the High Court of Justice.

YOUNG & Pure, the natural skincare products company launched by Suffolk-based entrepreneur Lianne Miller, has been wound-up in the High Court of Justice.

A winding-up petition in respect of the company, based at Reydon, near Southwold, was filed by a creditor on January 9, with a winding-up order being made by the court on April 1 and reported in the London Gazette on April 8.

The case is now being dealt with by an examiner at the office of the Official Receiver in Norwich.

Lianne Miller set up Young and Pure in 2006 after identifying a gap in the market as a result of seeking natural, chemical-free skincare products for her daughter.

She secured funding from a number of private investors and, after initially operating from her home, the business moved to a unit on the Reydon Business Park.

The company's products - sourced from an outside supplier and involving natural ingredients such as aloe vera and coconut oil - have been stocked by leading stores including Harrods, Fenwicks and Debenhams as well as health food retailers around the country.

In 2007, the company launched the “Samanda” range of skincare and fragrance products under a two year marketing deal with the twins Sam and Amanda Marchant, who had jointly come second in that year's Big Brother reality show on Channel 4. The deal was reportedly worth up to �150,000 to the twins.

Last autumn, Lianne Miller herself featured in the BBC Three reality show The Last Millionaire which involved a dozen UK entrepreneurs being tasked with money-making projects in six cities around the world. She was part of the winning pair in the third week of the show, set in Cairo, where the task involved a tourism theme.

Ms Miller said yesterday that the forced winding-up of Young & Pure had come about as the result of a delay in a further round of investment which, in turn, stemmed from the banking crisis.

With the company now in liquidation it would only be possible to keep Young & Pure products in the shops for a short time unless the business could be sold, which she believed was a possibility.

Either way, Ms Miller added that she hoped to be able to take the values of the business and its products forward, and to continuing working with young people to talk about the challenges of launching and growing a business.