Beloved high street chain could close with 250 shops and thousands of job axed
The new owners of The Body Shop are set to bring in administrators with the beauty chain facing shop and job cuts, it is claimed.
The high street giant - founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon, with a small shop in Brighton - was officially acquired on January 1 by Aurelius, a private equity firm, in a deal it said was valued at £207m.
But just weeks after taking control, it is understood the firm is preparing to appoint FRP Advisory to handle an insolvency process for its UK operation, which trades from around 250 stores. It is not clear how many possible closures or redundancies there could be but reports suggest administrators are likely to look at axing a significant number. It has struggled under a string of corporate owners.
Aurelius - which owns other popular brands such as Footasylum - saw off competition from rival bidders, including Alteri Investors, private equity firm Epiris and Elliott Advisors, the owner of bookseller Waterstones. However, reports say it quickly concluded the company had insufficient working capital. It has since closed the retailer's Home division.
At the time of the acquisition, The Body Shop had around 10,000 staff and operated roughly 3,000 stores in 70 countries. An insider told Sky News, the administration process will not impact the brand's global franchise partners.
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It comes after the retailer's businesses across much of Europe and some of Asia were sold to an unnamed family office in recent days. The equity firm told RetailWeek last month the transaction "further prioritises The Body Shop's strategically important markets and global head franchise partner relationships, which it will look for opportunities to build".
"The Body Shop will also focus on more effectively reaching customers by strengthening digital platforms, developing new sales channels, and via differentiated retail experiences", it added. "The announced sale is another decisive step towards delivering a strong turnaround strategy for The Body Shop, supported by the right structure. The ambition is to create a modern and dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term."
The publication also reported yesterday, previous owners Natura’s group legal counsel has reached out to Aurelius to find out why former employees haven’t received the long-term incentive grants due as part of their severance.
Natura had announced it was considering selling the skincare and cosmetics business due to declining sales earlier last year before the sale was announced in November. In a filing published in August 2023, it said it had authorised bosses to explore "strategic alternatives" for the retailer. Following the acquisition in November, Aurelius said it would work with the management team to drive "operational excellence" across the Body Shop brand. It also said it would "leverage its expertise and experience in the omnichannel retail and wholesale markets".
Tristan Nagler, partner at Aurelius said in a statement: "We are delighted to be undertaking this acquisition of an iconic British brand, which pioneered the cruelty-free and natural ingredient movement in the health and beauty market. We look forward to working with CEO Ian Bickley and his team to drive operational improvements and re-energise the business, and help to deliver the next chapter of success."
Aurelius declined to comment when contacted by the Mirror. We have also contacted The Body Shop.
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