The Body Shop has gone into administration and there are fears about the future of its Sussex stores.
The private equity firm Aurelius, which bought the company in November for £207 million, has appointed administrators for the company’s UK operation.
A number of The Body Shop’s roughly 200 stores are expected to close, but it is unclear how many will shut.
The Body Shop was founded in Brighton by Anita Roddick, who started the company from a single store in Kensington Gardens in the heart of North Laine in 1976, becoming well-known for its ethical trading practices and cruelty-free ingredients.
She opened another shop the following year and had grown to 138 stores by 1984, with several in other countries.
Dame Anita, who was born in Littlehampton, sold the business to L'Oréal in 2006 for £652 million, but attracted criticism for their links to animal testing.
She died the following year in Chichester at the age of 64 after suffering from a brain haemorrhage.
The Body Shop has one store in Brighton, in North Street, as well as a branch in George Street in Hove.
The company also has six other stores across Sussex, with shops in Worthing, Horsham, Eastbourne, Crawley, Chichester and Hastings.
A spokesman for FRP, one of the administrators, said: “The directors of The Body Shop have appointed Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley, and Alastair Massey of business advisory firm FRP as joint administrators of the company, which operates The Body Shop’s UK business.
“Taking this approach provides the stability, flexibility and security to find the best means of securing the future of The Body Shop and revitalizing this iconic British brand.”
“The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term.
“Creating a more nimble and financially stable UK business, is an important step in achieving this.”
The joint administrators will continue to trade the business in administration, meaning customers will still be able to shop in store and online for their favourite products.
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