The Body Shop: Suppliers to be given no more than a quarter of debts owed

The Body Shop’s suppliers are due to receive no more than around a quarter of the £219m owed to them when the chain collapsed into administration.

The cosmetics chain was rescued from administration last September by a consortium led by Aurea Group co-founder Mike Jatania.

In its latest progress update, administrators at FRP said Aurea Group paid at least £44.3m for the brand, The Guardian reported.

The administrators said UK tax authorities would be paid in full from the administration proceeds, while staff members would be given the holiday pay they were owed.

Despite this, unsecured creditors, including suppliers, landlords and charities, who were indebted £219m, are only set to be paid between 16% and 27% of their money owed.

The Body Shop’s unsecured creditors include recycling company E-Cycle, charity Children on the Edge, mental health group MindOut, and organic certification organisation Ecocert.

The retailer also owed millions of pounds to suppliers worldwide, with the highest amount of money owed to Avon at more than £13m. The Body Shop’s former parent company Aurelius was not granted any payment.

At the time of its collapse, administrators said the brand had £276m of debts in total, with £143m owed to “related suppliers”.

The Body Shop formally appointed administrators in February 2024 for the retailer’s UK operations, before being rescued under a deal which kept 113 stores open.

In December, it was reported that the group had returned to profitability three months after being saved from administration.

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