It’s official, the remaining 100 or so Body Shop stores in the UK will stay open after Mike Jatania’s Aurea consortium completed a deal to buy the business out of administration at the weekend.
Jatania — dubbed the ‘Cosmetics King’ in Britain — will head the rescued business along with Charles denton, the ex-Molton Brown chief executive.
The statement accompanying news of the deal’s completion said Aurea will “steer the Body Shop’s revival and reclaim its global leadership in the ethical beauty sector it pioneered”. It’s the investment firm’s biggest deal to date, we’re told, although no purchase price was revealed.
The company has been through several hands in recent years being owned by L’Oréal (2006-2017), then Natura &Co (2017-2023), then Aurelius, which bought it and quickly put it into administration earlier this year when the extent of the funding it required became clear.
Parts of it were sold off and stores were closed globally, including in the domestic UK market with 116 British stores now remaining. There are currently no plans to close any of these.
Jatania has a long history in the UK beauty segment and previously ran Lornamead, which was sold to Li & Fung for £155 million over a decade ago. It owned heritage brands such as Harmony, Yardley and Woods of Windsor.
As the Body Shop business approaches its 50th anniversary in 2026, the hope is that some of its past glories can be recovered.
Jatania added in his statement: “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.”
Jatania and Denton have a huge task on their hands, although it’s undeniable that they have a wealth of relevant experience to bring to the table.
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