HEREFORD jobs are now under threat after The Body Shop said it has hired administrators.

The news was announced this afternoon, after earlier reports that the brand had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators late on Monday.

The development means jobs and shops are under threat, including Hereford's Commercial Street The Body Shop.

FRP, administrators of The Body Shop, 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.

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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 will continue to trade, with shops and the online site remaining open and making sales at present.

FRP said: “The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector.

“Having taken swift action in the last month, including closing down The Body Shop At Home and selling its business across most of Europe and in parts of Asia, focusing on the UK business is the next important step in The Body Shop’s restructuring.”

The administrators added: “The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term.

“Creating a more nimble and financially stable UK business is an important step in achieving this.”

The retailer was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon as one of the first companies to promote so-called ethical consumerism, focusing on ethically produced cosmetics and skincare products.

It comes only weeks after new owners, European private equity firm Aurelius, took control of the business.

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Aurelius, which specialises in buying and turning around troubled firms, secured a £207 million deal in November to buy the Body Shop from Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura & Co.

It only took control of operations officially on January 1.

The business employed around 10,000 people worldwide at the time of the takeover.

Aurelius agreed a deal late last month to sell the company’s operations in most of mainland Europe and in parts of Asia to an international family office in a “decisive step towards delivering a strong turnaround strategy” at The Body Shop.