The Body Shop is preparing to appoint administrators for its UK operation as soon as next week.
Aurelius, the new private equity owners of the cosmetics retailer, are preparing to appoint FRP Advisory to manage an insolvency process, which will put many jobs and stores at risk, according to Sky News.
The administrators are likely to consider shutting a significant amount of the chain’s UK stores, City sources told the publication.
The administration process for the British arm will not impact The Body Shop’s global franchise partners, one insider claimed.
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The news comes after it emerged that Aurelius had sold parts of the beauty retailer’s Europe and Asia business last week.
The Body Shop signed an agreement with “an international family office to sell its business in most of mainland Europe and in parts of Asia” as it moves towards “delivering a strong turnaround strategy”.
Earlier this week, the former owner of the beauty brand, Natura & Co, wrote to the retailer’s new owner Aurelius over unpaid bonuses worth up to £3m owed to former employees.
The beauty giant’s legal counsel contacted the private equity owner to enquire why previous staff had not received the long-term incentive grants they were due in their severance, Retail Week reported.
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