The Body Shop rescue: who owns the beauty chain now?

113 Body Shop stores, and around 1,300 jobs, have been rescued after the vegan beauty brand fell into administration back in February.

The Body Shop was then put up for auction four months ago. Over the weekend, Sky News reported that a consortium led by the investments group Auréa had bought the brand out of administration for an undisclosed sum.

The Body Shop, which was first founded in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon, has changed hands various times over the years.

This most recent acquisition means that the ethical beauty brand will be able to keep trading. So who is Auréa, and why has the group purchased the Body Shop?

Who has acquired the Body Shop?

Auréa is a specialist group that was co-founded by ‘Cosmetics King’ Mike Jatania in 2012, alongside partners Andrew Vagenas and Paul Raphael.

The capital growth firm calls itself an investment platform “focused on beauty, wellness and longevity”. It also owns plant-based cosmetics firm Herbivore Botanicals, hair care company Scandinavian Biolabs, and make-up brand Decypher.

Owner Jatania is one of the UK’s richest businessmen. Alongside his three brothers – Vin, Danny and George, the Jatanias have an estimated net worth of £650m.

Jatania, the youngest of the brothers, became CEO of the family’s personal care brand Lornamead in 1990. The business was sold for a tidy $190m in 2013.

A company press release says the Body Shop deal represents the largest transaction to date for Auréa. As part of the acquisition, which was finalised late on Friday, Auréa Group will also gain control of the Body Shop’s assets in Australia and North America.

Alongside Vagenas and Raphael, Jatania will run the management team with Charles Denton, former CEO of Molton Brown. Denton has experience in bringing brands back from the brink. He previously took Molton Brown from near-collapse to a £170m business.

Buyers of the Body Shop

Auréa Group’s acquisition of the Body Shop brand marks the fourth occasion the company has changed hands in less than two decades. Here’s a brief overview of the Body Shop’s various owners over the years:

• L’Oréal: 2006-2016

The company’s chequered past began in 2006, when the Body Shop agreed to a £652m takeover by the global cosmetics manufacturer, L’Oréal.

At the time, the changeover proved controversial. The Body Shop’s ethical mission statement was seen to conflict with L’Oréal’s alleged history of animal testing.

• Natura & Co: 2016-2023

The L’Oréal takeover had an impact on the Body Shop sales. After profits nosedived in 2016, the Body Shop was sold for £877m to the Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura & Co.

Natura’s acquisition was seen as a fix for the Body Shop’s reputation. In 2014, Natura became the first publicly-listed B-corp. Jean-Paul Agon, L’Oréal CEO at the time, said Natura was “the best new owner [to] nurture the brand DNA around naturality and ethics”.

• Aurelius Group: 2023-2024

But in late 2023, Natura began to offload some of its assets. It sold the Body Shop in a cut price deal to private equity firm Aurelius for £207m.

Aurelius apparently found that the business was in worse financial shape than it thought. In February 2024, it placed the firm into administration less than three months after taking control from Natura, putting 2,200 jobs at risk. At the time, it owed £276m to creditors.

• Auréa Group: 2024 – ?

Auréa Group will now be hoping it can help to stabilise the company and ensure continuity after the past few years of disruptive changeovers and leadership shake-ups.

What’s next for The Body Shop?

According to reports, Auréa has lined up £30m in working capital from restructuring firm Hilco to fund the Body Shop’s future. This cash injection is sorely needed.

As we previously highlighted, the Body Shop is in serious danger of falling off a cliff edge. Some of its issues are not unique. The retail sector is under pressure at the moment due to declining customer footfall and tightened spending.

However, the Body Shop has struggled to stay relevant in an increasingly tight market. Like other legacy brands, such as Avon, it has failed to keep up with Gen Z buying trends, who have tended towards online-only competitors.

Now that the Body Shop has been dug up, its next task is to reassemble itself into an attractive, exciting space for cosmetics consumers – without costing an arm and a leg.