A consortium led by beauty investment platform Auréa has entered into an exclusivity agreement with the administrators of The Body Shop.
If a deal to buy the UK arm of the high street ethical cosmetics chain is successful the management team will be led by former Molton Brown CEO Charles Denton.
In a joint statement, the administrators of The Body Shop International and Auréa said: “While the deal is not yet complete, we believe the combined experience of the consortium, together with the existing management team, represents the best outcome for creditors and will ultimately ensure the long-term success of The Body Shop. A period of due diligence will now take place, with the intention to complete the transaction in the coming weeks.”
In February this year, German private equity company Aurelius, which bought the beauty chain in November 2023 for £207m, confirmed it had appointed FRP Advisory as administrator of the UK arm of The Body Shop following disappointing trading over Christmas and the new year period.
Later that month, the joint administrators unveiled plans to close 82 stores in total as part of a restructuring of the chain, with 116 The Body Shop stores to remain open.
