The Body Shop has been rescued from administration by a consortium led by British tycoon Mike Jatania, with remaining stores to continue trading.
Mr Jatania’s investment firm Aurea announced the completion of the acquisition on Saturday, with Mr Jatania and Charles Denton, former chief executive of beauty brand Molton Brown, to head the new leadership team.
In a statement, Aurea said the acquisition was its largest transaction to date and it would ‘steer the Body Shop’s revival and reclaim its global leadership in the ethical beauty sector it pioneered’.
It is currently understood there are no immediate plans to shut any of its 116 remaining UK stores.
The Body Shop has been rescued from administration by a consortium led by British tycoon Mike Jatania (above with wife), with remaining stores to continue trading
In a statement, Aurea said the acquisition was its largest transaction to date and it would ‘steer the Body Shop’s revival and reclaim its global leadership in the ethical beauty sector it pioneered’
Mr Jatania previously ran Lornamead – the owner of personal care brands including Lypsyl, Woods of Windsor, Yardley and Harmony haircare – which he sold to rival Li & Fung for around £155 million more than 10 years ago.
The Body Shop fell into administration in early February after previous forecasts for how much funding it would need to keep going proved too low.
In the weeks that followed, administrators said hundreds of jobs would be lost and dozens of shops closed.
The business had employed about 1,500 store workers before the administration.
The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, trading out of a small shop in Brighton originally and made its name selling cruelty-free fairtrade products.
Popular products which helped establish the brand’s name included bath bombs, White Musk fragrance and hemp hand cream.
Set up in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick, the company became famous for its no-nonsense ethical trading ethos and refusal to test products on animals
Mr Jatania, co-founder of Aurea, said: ‘With the Body Shop, we have acquired a truly iconic brand with highly engaged consumers in over 70 markets around the world.
‘We plan to focus relentlessly on exceeding their expectations by investing in product innovation and seamless experiences across all of the channels where customers shop while paying homage to the brand’s ethical and activist positioning.’
Charles Denton, chief executive of the Body Shop, said: ‘We believe there’s a sustainable future ahead and working closely with the management team we aim to restore the Body Shop’s unique, values-driven, independent spirit.’
However, in recent years it has seen its popularity in the UK with shoppers diminish due to the rise of rivals Lush and Holland and Barrett, and a growing online market of cheaper alternatives.
The firm also fell out of favour with some buyers after being sold to L’Oreal for £675million by Dame Anita in 2006 – a move that stunned many who saw the sale to a large corporation as running counter to the company’s values.
The Body Shop changed hands again in 2017 when the French cosmetics giant sold it to Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura&Co for €1billion.
After purchasing the brand, Aurelius said that ‘despite the challenging retail market there is an opportunity to re-energise the business to enable it to take advantage of positive trends in the high-growth beauty market.’