The Body Shop bought over by private firm in multi-million pound deal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ethical cosmetics chain the Body Shop has been bought over by a private equity firm in a multi-million pound deal. The British high street brand's parent company Natura & Co has recently confirmed that it has reached an agreement for the sale with private equity firm the Aurelius Group, which is the owner of Footasylum and JD Sports.Set to be completed by the end of the year, the deal is said to be worth £207million, although it does remain subject to approval by the relevant competition and regulatory authorities, reports the Mirror.It is currently unclear whether any of the Body Shop's 250 stores across the UK or jobs will be affected by the sale, which means that they will continue to trade as normal right now.

The private equity group has said that it would work with the management team to drive "operational excellence" across the Body Shop brand, whilst also "leveraging its expertise and experience in the omnichannel retail and wholesale markets". Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Tristan Nagler, partner at Aurelius said in a statement: "We are delighted to be undertaking this acquisition of an iconic British brand, which pioneered the cruelty-free and natural ingredient movement in the health and beauty market.

We look forward to working with CEO Ian Bickley and his team to drive operational improvements and re-energise the business, and help to deliver the next chapter of success."Ian Bickley, CEO of The Body Shop, added: “Today, we celebrate a truly historic moment for The Body Shop as we join forces with Aurelius to begin a new chapter, allowing us to continue building the relevancy of this global brand for future generations."With