This tragic news has left 200 stores across the UK at risk of closure and thousands of shoppers rushing to stock up on their favourite products from the cosmetics and skincare chain.

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The Body Shop released a statement saying: “Hello, you may have heard in the news that The Body Shop in the UK is under administration.

“We wanted you to know we’re open as usual and all our customers can continue to shop for their favourite products.

“And… thank you for the huge love we’ve been hearing, it means a lot.”

The retailer’s owners Aurelius have appointed administrators at FRP Advisory throwing doubt over the future of the iconic high street brand.

FRP said the move to place the retailer in administration “provides the stability, flexibility and security to find the best means of securing the future” of the chain.

They said: “The joint administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the business and will update creditors and employees in due course.”

The Body Shop employs 2,000 workers in the UK across their hundreds of beloved stores.

We have a full list of The Body Shop stores at risk of closing.

The Body Shop will continue to trade, with shops and the online site remaining open and making sales.

One upset shopper wrote on social media after hearing the news: “Gutted as I do use there products! Gonna have to stock up!”

Another said: “Best stock up on our faves!”

A third commented and tagged her pal: “Best stock up on the grapefruit hand cream Debs!!!”

A fourth posted: “Gutted buy all my skincare there. Not expensive at all for the quality of products.

The Body Shop was bought by private equity firm Aurelius from former owner Natura and Co in November in a deal worth £207million.

The cosmetics group said it was looking to shift its focus away from the UK market and towards South America.

New owners Aurelius, a private equity group which also owns Lloyds Pharmacy and Footasylum, also confirmed that it sold off most of The Body Shop business in mainland Europe and parts of Asia last month.

The administration of its UK branch of the business comes just weeks after it axed the Body Shop at Home service in the UK and Australia after 30 years.

The Avon-style business lets individual consultants sell products to customers from the comfort of their home.

Thousands of consultants currently use the Body Shop at Home service, but it will close for good on February 23.

The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon in Brighton in 1976.

Full list of closures

BELOW is a full list of The Body Shop stores in the UK at risk of closure:

374 Oxford Street, London
66 Oxford Street, London
Ashford
Ashford Outlet
Aylesbury
Banbury
Barnstaple
Basildon
Basilton
Basingstoke
Bath
Battersea
Bedford
Beverley
Bexleyheath
Birmingham Bullring
Birmingham New Street
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bluewater
Bluewater, Greenhithe
Bolton Market Place
Bournemouth Commercial Road
Bracknell Lexicon
Bradford Broadway
Braintree Outlet
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Bridgend Outet
Brighton
Bristol Cabot Circus
Bristol Queens Road
Brixton
Broughton Park
Bury
Bury St Edmunds
Caledonia Park Outlet
Camarthen
Camberley
Cambridge
Cambridge Station
Cannock Outlet
Cardiff St Davids
Carlisle
Carmarthen
Castleford Outlet
Chelmsford
Cheltenham
Cheshire Oaks Outlet
Chester Foregate Street
Chesterfield
Chichester
Chippenham
Cirencester
Clarks Village Outlet, Somerset
Colchester
Commercial Arcade, St Peter Port, Gurnsey
Coventry
Crawley County Mall
Cribbs Causeway
Dalton Park Outlet, Seaham
Derby Intu
Didcot
Doncaster Lakeside Outlet
Dudley
Dundee
Dunfermline
Durham
Ealing
East Kilbride
East Midlands Outlet
Eastbourne
Edinburgh Gyle
Edinburgh St James Quarter
Edinburgh Waverley Market
Enfield
Epsom
Exeter
Fareham
Farnborough
Fleetwood Outlet
Foyleside, Derry
Glasgow Braehead
Glasgow Fort
Glasgow Silverburn
Glasgow St Enoch
Glasgow Station
Gloucester
Grimsby
Guildford High Street
Gunwharf Outlet, Portsmouth
Halifax
Harlow
Harrogate
Harrow
Hastings
Hatfield Outlet
Hempstead Valley
Hereford Commercial Street
High Wycombe
Horsham
Hounslow Treaty Centre
Hove
Huddersfield
Hull
Ilford
Isle of Wight
Islington
Kendal
Kings Lynn
Kings Street, St Helier, Jersey
Kingston-Upon-Thames
Lancaster
Leamington Spa
Leeds Briggate
Leeds White Rose
Leicester High Cross
Lichfield
Lincoln Waterside
Liverpool One
Liverpool Street Station
Livingston Outlet
London Bridge
Loughborough
Luton
Macclesfield
Maidstone
Manchester Arndale
Manchester Royal Exchange
Meadowhall High Street
MediaCity UK, Manchester
Middlesborough
Milton Keynes
Morpeth
Newcastle Eldon Square
Newton Abbott
Northampton
Norwich
Nottingham Bridlesmith Gate
Nuneaton
Oldham
One New Change Shopping Centre, London
Oxford Westgate
Perth
Peterborough Queensgate
Petty Curry, Cambridge
Platinum Mall, Gateshead
Plymouth
Poole
Portsmouth
Preson
Preston
Reading
Regent Street, London
Romford
Rushen Lakes
Sailsbury
Sheffield
Shrewsbury
Solihull
Southampton
Southend
Spalding Outlet
St Albans
Stafford
Staines
Standstead Airside
Stockport
Stratford Upon Avon
Sunderland
Surrey Quays Shopping Centre
Sutton
Swansea
Swindon Outlet
Talke Hanley Outlet, Stoke-on-rent
Taunton
Telford
Thurrock
Trafford Park
Trowbridge
Truro
Tunbridge Wells
Uxbridge Market Square
Victoria Square Shopping Centre, Belfast
Wakefield Trinity Walk
Walthamstow
Warrington
Watford
Wembley Outlet
Whiteley Village Shopping Centre, Fareham
Wigan
Wimbledon
Winchester
Windsor
Woking
Wolverhampton
Worcester
Worthing
York Coppergate
York Outlet

How has the UK high street been affected recently?

The Body Shop, like many other high street retailers, has experienced financial struggles amid a challenging backdrop for shoppers.

Brick-and-mortar shops have been hit hard due to shopping habits turning more to online retail.

Numerous high street brands have collapsed into administration in the last 12 months. including major discounter Wilko.

But it has since returned to the high street under The Range’s ownership, and Wilko branded items are being stocked in The Range stores.

Both M&Co and Joules are among the well-known brands which went bust in 2022.

Paperchase then collapsed into administration at the end of January last year and all 106 stores later closed for good.

Elsewhere, The Sun has put together a handy guide to all the retailers shutting shops in February including Boots and Costa.