The Body Shop set to appoint administrators; UK hit by ‘significant long-run cost of Brexit’ – as it happened

Goldman Sachs Doppelganger' analysis suggests UK real GDP has unperformed by 5% since 2016 vote, while Body Shop's owners have filed the intention to appoint administrators.

• The Body Shop files intention to appoint administrators
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• Job losses likely as The Body Shop lines up administrators

The news that The Body Shop could soon appoint administrators has prompted a torrent of nostalgia from the company's customers.

Many have been reminiscing about favourite products such as body butter, bath pearls and white musk perfume.

But there will be a focus on reducing its costs, including on property and rents, as well as building up its online presence.

There are hopes it will be restructured to better compete with brands such as Lush, perhaps best-known for its bath bombs, which is popular with younger shoppers.

The company's most recent accounts show that The Body Shop posted a loss of 60m in its last financial year, which came while the business was still owned by the Brazilian cosmetics group Natura & Co.

The retailer said that it had been hit by a challenging retail environment", along with rising inflation and interest rates.

Retail sources said that after the deal had been completed 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. This week it emerged that Aurelius had sold parts of the beauty retailer's Europe and Asia business.

The administration process for Body Shop's UK operations will not affect the brand's global franchise partners, according to the report.