The Body Shop rescued from administration as investor saves 1,300 jobs

High street cosmetics giant The Body Shop has been bought out of administration at the eleventh hour.

Some 1,300 jobs have been saved after entrepreneur Mike Jatania’s investment vehicle Auréa revealed the acquisition of its remaining 113 stores over the weekend.

Jatania will pair up with the former boss of beauty brand Molton Brown, Charles Denton, to lead The Body Shop, which has seven stores in Yorkshire including branches in Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York.

A spokesperson for Auréa said: “We believe that the stores are an important part of the brand’s connection to its customers. We will naturally monitor the footprint of the estate to make sure that we are optimising performance through that connection.”

The Body Shop, which was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976 fell into administration in February just three months after its then new owner Aurelius had bought it for £207m. At the time it owned creditors £267m.

FRP Advisory were appointed as administrators and have closed 85 stores. Some 500 high street jobs have been lost, along with around 270 office roles.

Auréa added: “Auréa will apply its investment acumen, deep industry knowledge and operational expertise to rebuild the business while honouring the heritage and values that connect the brand with its customers.”

Sky News is reporting that Auréa has lined up a £30m investment from restructuring firm Hilco to fund the immediate future of The Body Shop.

The move adds to Auréa’s cosmetics and beauty portfolio, which already includes Herbivore Botanicals, Scandinavian Biolabs and Decypher.