News that Aurelius had appointed administrators to its latest acquisition has been met with considerable cynicism as administrators Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley and Alastair Massey of FRP moved to commence store closures quickly.
Seven stores will close immediately (today), with around half of the UK stores expected to follow once negotiations with landlords have taken place. Some 40 per cent of head office staff are expected to be made redundant as well as around half of all store and retail support staff in what has been deemed to be a cynical exercise with sector watchers expecting that Aurelius will be buying the business back from the administrators once it has been trimmed back. (Notably, Aurelius became the top creditor of The Body Shop International Ltd prior to the appointment of FRP).
In a statement, the administrators said: “Stabilising and strengthening the central core will also support The Body Shop’s international strategy, with global head franchise partners and wholesale partners in Asia, the Middle East and Europe a cornerstone of future success.
“This swift action will help re-energise The Body Shop’s iconic brand and provide it with the best platform to achieve its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand that is able to return to profitability and compete for the long-term.”
Prior to this, it emerged that The Body Shop’s German business, which has some 350 employees, has also entered administration. It has also emerged that Peter Wood, UK managing director of Aurelius, who had led the acquisition of The Body Shop business, is no longer with the German-owned private equity business. The rumour mill suggests that the due diligence process had been somewhat lacking.
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