The "king of cosmetic surgery" takes a knife to the industry

THE cosmetic surgery industry was put out of shape in 2012 after an implant scandal, when more than 47,000 British women were fitted with faulty breast implants.

95% of the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implants in the UK were fitted by private companies, and it was feared that the implants were at risk of rupturing, leaking silicone gel into the body.

One of the companies to be affected by the PIP implant health scare was Manchester-based Transform, founded by John Ryan in 1978, which went into administration earlier this year, and was subsequently bought by German firm Aurelius.

Labelled the “king of cosmetic surgery”, Mr Ryan has been credited with bringing reconstructive operations and procedures to the masses after founding the business, which he sold in 2002 for £20m.

Mr Ryan’s former company denied that the administration had anything to do with the PIP implant controversy, which broke in 2012, but he says that is not the full story.

Mr Ryan said: “They did a deal with the Germans six months before it all came out. The buy-out by Aurelius didn’t go down well in Manchester. They say they rescued it and saved jobs, which they have, but they have also knocked a load of small companies back, not paying them what they’re owed. What they’ve done is underhanded and unfair to a lot of smaller businesses who supplied them.

“It’s very sad for me because I was the one who built up Transform for 25 years, and sold it as a premier cosmetic surgery firm in 2002. Now it’s a mess. What annoys me is that they’re carrying on as if nothing happened.

“I’m very disappointed, they’ve ripped my old company apart.”

Mr Ryan said that the administration of Transform may have looked good on the outside, but behind the screen there was a long list of creditors that never got paid.

He said: “I know a surgeon that lost £12,000. They only paid the ones they wanted to keep.”

“It’s easy to do a pre-pack like Transform did, losing millions of debt in one go. But for the people who get knocked it’s terrible. They bought PIP implants and paid the price, and wrecked the business after 38 years.”

Mr Ryan has moved on from Transform with Harrogate-based cosmetic firm Make Yourself Amazing. He said: “With MYA, we were lucky as we only had 32 sets of implants out there, and we removed them free of charge, unlike our competitors Transform and the Harley Medical Group, who charged customers again to have them out.

“We were commended along with BMI and Aspire, because we did them all for free.”

“We’re doing really well because a good percentage of the public know the truth about Harley Medical and the others.

“I’ve been in the industry since 1978 and know how to run a cosmetic surgery business in a proper way. I’ve never been in administration, I’ve paid my taxes and my dues and looked after patients properly.”

Mr Ryan was initially reluctant to start again after leaving the industry in the early 2000’s. It was only through his persuasive friend, Aaron Rea, formerly a director at Keypoint Law, that Mr Ryan even considered re-entering the industry.

He said: “I didn’t want to come back. I was persuaded by a friend who wanted to create the best cosmetic surgery firm ever. I did pretty well with Transform and that’s why we started MYA. We have a great brand, we’re profitable, and I’ve been in the industry for a long time so know the best surgeons. We have a business that progresses even in the most difficult of times.”

“It was difficult to start with, we couldn’t get finance, so we formed our own finance group and financed ourselves – and it worked. We can get finance through normal routes now, but at the time no one wanted to give it away or lend it. It was difficult but I always thought, if we can get through this we can get through everything and anything.”

Harrogate-based MYA now has a network of nationwide plastic surgery clinics spanning Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff and Chelmsford.

The firm made a step change last year, opening a cosmetic surgery hospital in London, expanding their offering in the capital.

Mr Ryan said: “We opened the doors in 2007 and last year we got a prestigious hospital in Fitzroy Square. We’ve grown and grown and been so successful.”

The firm has grown, but has had to take a scalpel to its advertising along the way.

The Advertising Standards Authority criticised a MYA television advert for trivialising cosmetic surgery, but Mr Ryan retaliated saying: “The ASA’s problem was that the girl on our advert was showing a bit too much boob, our latest ad doesn’t even show boobs at all.”

Mr Ryan said. “That advert had girls in evening gowns which was too much for them, even though we see semi-naked women all the time in the media, even selling soap. But we said “no problem.” We don’t want to trivialise it so we didn’t mind changing it if that was what they felt.”

Mr Ryan said: “The bottom line is, if someone wants something fixed, they have every right to have treatment. If they’re not interested then they don’t need to come.

“We advertise and people come to us, we don’t go to people, they contact us. They want it and are thinking about it already before we even get involved.”

Mr Ryan himself, as well as his wife and daughters have had cosmetic surgery. He said: “We’ve kept it in the family. Our surgeons are exceptional at their jobs, and I’d definitely have more done if I felt I needed it.”

“I will be exiting in the next five years, I’m 65 now,” he said, “I love the industry and want to go out on top, but I want to make an awful lot of people happy in the meantime.”