The Body Shop is close to being bought out of administration after it agreed to exclusive rescue talks with a consortium led by the British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania.
Jatania’s investment company, Auréa, is in negotiations with the UK cosmetic chain’s administrators over a deal. The Body Shop fell into administration in February, leading to hundreds of job losses and more than 80 shop closures.
Charles Denton, the former chief executive of the beauty brand Molton Brown, will lead the new management team if a deal is struck.
A joint statement by Auréa and the administrators, FRP Advisory, said that after a competitive bidding process Jatania’s company had begun carrying out due diligence checks, with a sale expected to be agreed in the coming weeks.
It 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.”
The Body Shop was founded by the late environmental and human rights campaigner Anita Roddick in 1976 and became a staple of the British high street, selling ethically produced cosmetic and skincare products.
In February it went into administration after its owner, Aurelius, which had bought the company for £207m three months earlier, said it could not revive the business’s fortunes. It owed creditors more than £276m at the time.
Administrators have since closed 82 shops, leaving 116 open, while 489 shop jobs and 270 office jobs have been cut.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that administrators were close to striking a deal with Auréa after it beat rival bidders at auction.
Auréa is led by Jatania and the former UBS group banker Paul Raphael and Pharmapacks founder Andrew Vagenas.
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It owns brands including Herbivore Botanicals a plant-based cosmetics firm; Scandinavian Biolabs, a natural haircare product; and Decypher, which produces and sells foundation makeup.
Jatania previously ran Lornamead, which owned personal care brands including Lypsyl, Woods of Windsor, Yardley and Harmony haircare. He sold it to a rival, Li & Fung, for about £155m more than 10 years ago.