New Body Shop owner to call in administrators for UK chain

Published

1 year ago

February 9, 2024

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The new owners of The Body Shop are lining up administrators for its British arm just weeks after taking control of the cosmetics retailer, in a move which could threaten significant numbers of shops and jobs.

Sky News has learnt that the company founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly half a century ago is preparing to appoint FRP Advisory to handle an insolvency process for its UK operation, which trades from around 200 stores.

City sources said on Friday that the administrators were ultimately likely to consider closing a significant chunk of The Body Shop’s UK outlets, although they stressed that it was premature to speculate on specific numbers.

The Body Shop employs a large number of people in Britain, including at its head office in London.

The administration process for its UK operations will not impact the brand’s global franchise partners, according to one insider.

In recent days, The Body Shop’s businesses across most of Europe and parts of Asia have been sold to an unnamed family office.

The retailer told RetailWeek, which first reported the international transaction, that it “further prioritises The Body Shop’s strategically important markets and global head franchise partner relationships, which it will look for opportunities to build”.

“The Body Shop will also focus on more effectively reaching customers by strengthening digital platforms, developing new sales channels, and via differentiated retail experiences,” it added.

“The announced sale is another decisive step towards delivering a strong turnaround strategy for The Body Shop, supported by the right structure.

“The ambition is to create a modern and dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term.”

The Body Shop was acquired in November by Aurelius, a private equity firm, in a deal it said was valued at £207m.

Retail sources said that after the deal closed at the start of this year, the new owner concluded that the company had insufficient working capital and was trading more weakly than it had anticipated.

The company has already decided to close its Body Shop at Home division, which was struggling financially, while a report this week said that Natura, its previous owner.

The insolvency process in the UK could allow a slimmer, more financially viable business to emerge after its struggles under a succession of corporate owners.

Aurelius was said to have seen off competition to buy The Body Shop from rival bidders including Alteri Investors, private equity firm Epiris and Elliott Advisors, the owner of bookseller Waterstones.

At the time of the acquisition, The Body Shop employed about 10,000 people, and operates roughly 3,000 stores in 70 countries.

Although it has struggled for profitable growth for years, it retains a prominent presence on British high streets.

The Roddicks were prominent champions of environmental causes, a positioning which helped it gain an edge over rival retailers during the 1980s and ’90s.

Its opposition to the animal testing of cosmetics was also unusual in the decades immediately after it was founded.

Its distinctiveness has, however, been diminished in recent years by the emergence of competitors which have also put sustainability at the heart of their businesses while more effectively targeting younger consumers.

Dame Anita died in 2007.

Natura was reported to have paid more than $1bn to buy The Body Shop in 2017.

It was owned by L’Oreal, the cosmetics giant, prior to its sale to Natura.

Aurelius and The Body Shop declined to comment.

UK

UK weather: Yellow heat health alerts issued for most of England

Published

11 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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UK weather: Yellow heat health alerts issued for most of England

Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for most of England – with temperatures forecast to hit highs of 33C (91F) this weekend.

Only the North East and North West are exempt from the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) latest warning, which comes into force at 12pm on Wednesday and expires at 6pm on Sunday.

The alert indicates that people with pre-existing health conditions, and those aged over 65, could be at higher risk.

Forecasters say the East of England is likely to see the highest temperatures, which wouldn’t be far off the June record of 35.6C (90F) set in 1976.

According to the Met Office, it will get progressively warmer as the week progresses – with the heat peaking on Sunday.

Deputy chief meteorologist Dan Holley said thundery showers may be possible heading into Saturday morning, with “tropical nights” a possibility as parts of the UK approach heatwave territory.

The forecast means we are likely to see the hottest day of the year so far – eclipsing the 29.4C (85F) recorded last Friday in Suffolk.

In a delicious twist, ice cream makers have said “it’s their Christmas time”, with some making fresh supplies around the clock.

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US-UK trade deal ‘done’, says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

Published

22 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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US-UK trade deal 'done', says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.

The US president told reporters in Canada: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”

Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, describing it as a “really important agreement”.

“So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength,” the prime minister added.

Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.

However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.

What exactly does trade deal being ‘done’ mean?

The government says the US “has committed” to removing tariffs (taxes on imported goods) on UK aerospace goods, such as engines and aircraft parts, which currently stand at 10%.

That is “expected to come into force by the end of the month”.

Tariffs on car imports will drop from 27.5% to 10%, the government says, which “saves car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year, and protects tens of thousands of jobs”.

The White House says there will be a quote of 100,000 cars eligible for import at that level each year.

But on steel, the story is a little more complicated.

The UK is the only country exempted from the global 50% tariff rate on steel – which means the UK rate remains at the original level of 25%.

That tariff was expected to be lifted entirely, but the government now says it will “continue to go further and make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed”.

The White House says the US will “promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles”.

Other key parts of the deal include import and export quotas for beef – and the government is keen to emphasise that “any US imports will need to meet UK food safety standards”.

There is no change to tariffs on pharmaceuticals for the moment, and the government says “work will continue to protect industry from any further tariffs imposed”.

The White House says they “committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes”.

Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”

He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”

Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.

As the pair exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, Mr Trump held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.

Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Sir Keir quickly stooped to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”

The US president also appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.

Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.

In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.

Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.

UK

Whitehall officials tried to cover up grooming scandal in 2011, Dominic Cummings says

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

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Whitehall officials tried to cover up grooming scandal in 2011, Dominic Cummings says

Whitehall officials tried to convince Michael Gove to go to court to cover up the grooming scandal in 2011, Sky News can reveal.

Dominic Cummings, who was working for Lord Gove at the time, has told Sky News that officials in the Department for Education (DfE) wanted to help efforts by Rotherham Council to stop a national newspaper from exposing the scandal.

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Cummings said that officials wanted a “total cover-up”.

Politics latest: Grooming gangs findings unveiled

The revelation shines a light on the institutional reluctance of some key officials in central government to publicly highlight the grooming gang scandal.

In 2011, Rotherham Council approached the Department for Education asking for help following inquiries by The Times. The paper’s then chief reporter, the late Andrew Norfolk, was asking about sexual abuse and trafficking of children in Rotherham.

The council went to Lord Gove’s Department for Education for help. Officials considered the request and then recommended to Lord Gove’s office that the minister back a judicial review which might, if successful, stop The Times publishing the story.

Lord Gove rejected the request on the advice of Mr Cummings. Sources have independently confirmed Mr Cummings’ account.

Mr Cummings told Sky News: “Officials came to me in the Department of Education and said: ‘There’s this Times journalist who wants to write the story about these gangs. The local authority wants to judicially review it and stop The Times publishing the story’.

“So I went to Michael Gove and said: ‘This council is trying to actually stop this and they’re going to use judicial review. You should tell the council that far from siding with the council to stop The Times you will write to the judge and hand over a whole bunch of documents and actually blow up the council’s JR (judicial review).’

“Some officials wanted a total cover-up and were on the side of the council…

“They wanted to help the local council do the cover-up and stop The Times’ reporting, but other officials, including in the DfE private office, said this is completely outrageous and we should blow it up. Gove did, the judicial review got blown up, Norfolk stories ran.”

The judicial review wanted by officials would have asked a judge to decide about the lawfulness of The Times’ publication plans and the consequences that would flow from this information entering the public domain.

A second source told Sky News that the advice from officials was to side with Rotherham Council and its attempts to stop publication of details it did not want in the public domain.

One of the motivations cited for stopping publication would be to prevent the identities of abused children entering the public domain.

There was also a fear that publication could set back the existing attempts to halt the scandal, although incidents of abuse continued for many years after these cases.

Sources suggested that there is also a natural risk aversion amongst officials to publicity of this sort.

Read more on grooming gangs:
What we do and don’t know from the data
A timeline of the scandal

Mr Cummings, who ran the Vote Leave Brexit campaign and was Boris Johnson’s right-hand man in Downing Street, has long pushed for a national inquiry into grooming gangs to expose failures at the heart of government.

He said the inquiry, announced today, “will be a total s**tshow for Whitehall because it will reveal how much Whitehall worked to try and cover up the whole thing.”

He also described Mr Johnson, with whom he has a long-standing animus, as a “moron’ for saying that money spent on inquiries into historic child sexual abuse had been “spaffed up the wall”.

Asked by Sky News political correspondent Liz Bates why he had not pushed for a public inquiry himself when he worked in Number 10 in 2019-20, Mr Cummings said Brexit and then COVID had taken precedence.

“There are a million things that I wanted to do but in 2019 we were dealing with the constitutional crisis,” he said.

The Department for Education and Rotherham Council have been approached for comment.