The Body Shop administrators have entered an exclusivity agreement with investment group Auréa, which is co-founded by entrepreneur and beauty tycoon Mike Jatania and headed up by former Molton Brown CEO Charles Denton.
Denton is credited with leading the turnaround of Molton Brown from the brink of collapse to a £170m business while Jatania, who was revealed to have entered discussions with FRP has previously built a portfolio of personal care brands such as Harmony hairspray, Lipsyl lip salve and Yardley perfume through his family company Lornamead. He sold Lypsyl to rival Li & Fung back in 2013 for nearly £156m ($200m).
It is understood that the retailer’s potential new owners are planning to retain all of its existing UK shops.
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A joint statement from the administrators of The Body Shop International, FRP, and Auréa group said: “Following a competitive bidding process, the joint administrators of The Body Shop International have now entered into an exclusivity agreement with a consortium led by Auréa group…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,” it added.
The Body Shop collapsed into adminstration in February just months after it was acquired by private equity firm Aurelius for £207m last November.
At the time, FRP said the chain had faced “an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector”.
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