The future of a Swindon shop is uncertain after the chain in charge of it is expected to collapse into administration.

The Body Shop’s new owner filed its intention to put the retailer’s UK business into administration and the accounting firm FRP Advisory is set to be appointed within days.

What this means for the beauty specialist’s 200 shops and more than 2,000 staff around the UK – including Rodbourne’s one in the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet - is not yet known, but administration announcements such as these often lead to job losses and store closures.

It is understood that Aurelius, the private equity firm that bought The Body Shop for £207 million in November, made this big decision after sales slumped during the Christmas shopping season and stayed low throughout January.

It is also believed that The Body Shop's working capital was not as healthy as initially thought.

Dame Anita Roddick founded the first Body Shop in Brighton in 1976.

By 1984, London Stock Exchange valued a company that was started for £4,000 at £80m.

In 2006, Dame Anita sold the business for £652m to L’Oreal, who managed the brand for more than a decade before selling it to Natura of Brazil for £880m.

In November 2023, Natura offloaded it to Aurelia for a fraction of that price.