A consortium led by British tycoon Mike Jatania has agreed to buy The Body Shop out of insolvency. 

The acquisition of the long-troubled UK cosmetics retailer is expected to complete in the coming weeks, according to a statement released on Wednesday. 

The new owners include investment fund Aurea Holding, which Jatania runs with former UBS Group AG banker Paul Raphael, and Charles Denton, a former chief executive officer of fragrance brand Molton Brown. 

The deal confirms an earlier Bloomberg report and includes a plan to retain the Body Shop’s UK stores and existing management team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Body Shop was founded in 1976, and became popular for selling cosmetic and hygiene products that were not tested on animals. But the business has been unprofitable for years as it struggled to compete with rivals. 

The Body Shop fell into administration, a UK insolvency process, in February, three months after private equity firm Aurelius agreed to buy it from Brazilian cosmetics conglomerate Natura & Co for £207 million (US$269 million or RM1.26 billion). The retailer began preparations to close almost half of its 198 UK stores earlier this year. Administrators from FRP Advisory blamed its collapse on financial challenges under Natura. 

  - Bloomberg