The Body Shop to cut 300 head office jobs and almost half of UK stores could close

Administrators tell staff seven shops will shut immediately with more to follow as business battles to survive

The Body Shop is to cut 300 jobs at head office while nearly half of its 198 stores in the UK could close with the loss of hundreds more jobs as the business battles for survival.

Administrators told staff on Tuesday that seven stores would close immediately, with more set to follow, while numbers at its offices in London and Littlehampton in West Sussex were being cut by 40% to 400. It is not clear if jobs at the group's warehouse, also in Littlehampton, will be affected.