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The former boss of Molton Brown is set to take charge of The Body Shop in a rescue deal that will keep 133 branches open.
Administrators at FRP said they had sold The Body Shop to a consortium led by cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania after weeks of exclusive talks with the entrepreneur.
Charles Denton, the former Molton Brown chief, will become chief executive.
The move is expected to save more than 1,000 jobs, with Mr Jatania’s investment company Aurea understood to have no immediate plans to close any more stores. The Body Shop currently employs 1,300 people.
The new owners may look at finding better locations for current shops in various towns and cities, sources suggested.
The deal follows months of controversy over the cosmetics chain’s dramatic collapse in February, which led to more than 80 shops being closed.
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The Body Shop fell into administration shortly after its sale to private equity firm Aurelius in a £207m deal last November. The transaction valued The Body Shop at significantly less than the €1bn (£870m) previous owner Natura paid for the business in 2017.
At the time of the administration, sources alleged that The Body Shop’s finances were in a worse state than expected.
The Telegraph revealed in April that the collapse had been triggered after HSBC withdrew a line of credit and its new private equity buyer failed to secure alternative funding. Aurelius declined to comment at the time.
City sources had suggested that Aurelius was the most likely bidder to buy the business out of administration, at which point it would be shorn of debt. Aurelius was listed as the retailer’s top creditor before its insolvency.
However, the auction attracted several interested parties, including Mr Jatania’s firm Aurea and Gordon Brothers, the turnaround outfit headed up by former Mothercare boss Mark Newton-Jones.
In a statement late on Friday, Aurea said The Body Shop deal was its “largest transaction to date”, although declined to give details on the size of the investment.
It added that the retailer was a “truly iconic brand with highly engaged consumers in over 70 markets around the world”.
Aurea said it would be looking to rebuild the business and “reclaim its global leadership in the ethical beauty sector it pioneered”.
The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by the late Anita Roddick. The business was a trailblazer when it launched, promising to sell natural cosmetics that would not be tested on animals.
Other retailers have since copied its approach of selling ethical cosmetics, including Lush and Rituals.