Aurelius in exclusive talks to buy The Body Shop

Aurelius, the private equity firm which owns Footasylum and Lloyds Pharmacy, is understood to be in exclusive negotiations to buy The Body Shop.

Banking sources told Sky News this weekend that a deal was expected to be signed in November.

The potential deal is expected to value The Body Shop at a lower price than the £400-500 million suggested in some media reports since the auction was launched, the sources added.

It comes after Natura & Co said it was exploring strategic options for the brand, including a potential sale of the business.

Founded in 1976, The Body Shop was the brainchild of responsible beauty and retail entrepreneur, the late Dame Anita Roddick. It was a pioneer of cruelty-free cosmetics and refillable packaging, decades before they became mainstream business trends.

In 2006, at the height of its success, The Body Shop was acquired by L'Oréal. However, over the next 11 years, the business failed to thrive.

It was then acquired by its current owner Natura & Co in 2017, which sought to re-establish some of the values upon which the business was founded, such as refillable packaging.

Natura & Co recently revamped the brand's stores and relaunched its cosmetics line but, despite this, the business has been a drag on the Brazilian group's results. For the second quarter, The Body Shop posted a 12% decrease in net revenue.

Read TheIndustry.beauty's feature on What next for The Body Shop?