Private equity firm Aurelius Group is reportedly in exclusive talks to acquire The Body Shop.

According to Sky News, the Footasylum owner is in 'pole position' to buy the high street cosmetics chain after it was put up for sale by Brazil's Natura in the summer.

The report notes that a deal worth substantially lower than the initially reported price of £400-500 million is expected to be signed in November.

Sky’s report was later backed up by a source familiar with the talks to Reuters, confirming that Aurelius had been working with bankers at Morgan Stanley to conclude a deal by the end of the year.

Other interested parties in The Body Shop included a number of private equity firms including Elliott Advisors, the owner of Waterstones.

Natura reportedly paid more than $1 billion to acquire The Body Shop in 2017 from L'Oreal, but in August it said that its board of directors had authorised the company to seek "strategic alternatives" for the brand.

The Body Shop, founded by Dame Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon in 1976, operates around 3,000 stores in 70 countries and employs about 10,000 staff.

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