UK insolvency; Indian franchise unaffected

The Body Shop Referral Code

Q: Did The Body Shop go bust?

Its UK business did. In February 2024 The Body Shop entered administration in the UK, three months after the German private equity firm Aurelius acquired it from the Brazilian group Natura & Co. More than 80 British stores closed with the loss of over 750 jobs, US operations ceased, and the French subsidiary moved toward liquidation. In September 2024 the business was bought out of administration by a consortium led by the British cosmetics businessman Mike Jatania under the private equity firm Auréa Group, with early trading reported as a £2 million profit on £28 million of sales in the first three months.

Q: Were Indian stores affected?

No. The Body Shop India is operated by Quest Retail Pvt Ltd, a franchise partner, and its group chief executive Shriti Malhotra stated at the time that the news related to the UK only and had no effect on The Body Shop India whatsoever. Across the world the brand runs in roughly 83 markets with more than 1,300 outlets, most of them operated by franchise partners including India, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.

Q: Why does the franchise structure matter to a customer?

Because it decides who owes you. In a franchise, your gift card, your loyalty points and your right to return something are obligations of the local operating company rather than of the global brand. So a Body Shop gift card bought in the UK was exposed to the UK insolvency, while one bought in India was not — a different company stood behind it. The shop looks identical either way, which is exactly why the distinction is worth knowing.

Q: How do I find out which company I am dealing with?

Find the registered company name and number in the website footer or on your receipt — it is frequently not the brand name — and look it up on the relevant companies register. It takes two minutes. This site has now applied that check to a fashion brand, an energy supplier, a lighting retailer and a cosmetics chain, and it has produced a different answer every time.

Q: What happened to people who were owed money?

Suppliers to the UK business were owed around £219 million and were expected to recover no more than a quarter of it. Those suppliers were unsecured creditors, which is the same queue a customer holding a gift card stands in — and a recovery of roughly 25p in the pound is what that queue typically looks like. Two precautions follow for any retailer: never hold a large gift-card balance, because a gift card is an interest-free loan to a shop with no protection if the shop fails; and pay by a method with a chargeback or Section 75-type route where one is available to you, since that is a claim against your card provider rather than a place in the creditors' queue.

Q: What is the referral actually worth?

Our page could not settle it. The headline said "Give £10 Discount" while the answers described 20% off a first purchase for the referred person and 10% off a next purchase for the referrer, with a minimum spend of ₹500 — pounds and rupees, fixed amounts and percentages, all for one scheme. Treat the percentage version as the more specific and confirm it in your account. And note what a percentage reward is: 10% off a next purchase is worth something only when you next shop, and nothing at all if you do not.

The Body Shop's UK business collapsed in 2024 while its Indian stores carried on — because they are run by a different company

The Body Shop sells ethically-positioned cosmetics and skincare. Its UK business entered administration in February 2024, while its Indian stores — operated by franchise partner Quest Retail — continued trading unaffected.

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Genie Says

The Body Shop's UK business entered administration in February 2024, three months after Aurelius bought it from Natura & Co, closing over 80 UK stores with more than 750 job losses; suppliers were owed around £219 million and expected no more than a quarter back. A consortium led by Mike Jatania under Auréa Group bought it out of administration in September 2024. Indian stores were entirely unaffected because The Body Shop India is operated by franchise partner Quest Retail Pvt Ltd — a separate company. That is the point worth carrying: in a franchise, gift cards, loyalty points and returns are the local operator's obligation, not the global brand's. Our own page mixed £10, 20% and 10% for one scheme on the Indian site.

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⚠️ Stated in our answers as 10% off your next purchase — not the "£10" our headline promised.per successful referral*

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How to Use a The Body Shop Referral Code

Establish which company you are dealing with

The Body Shop runs across roughly 83 markets and most stores are franchised. The operator differs by country and so do its obligations.

Check the reward in your own account

Our page gave £10, 20% and 10% for the same scheme. The percentage version is the more specific of the two.

Treat a percentage as a future discount

10% off a next purchase is worth something only when you next shop, and nothing if you do not.

Do not hold gift-card balances

Buy it, spend it. A gift card is an interest-free loan to a shop with no protection if the shop fails.

Reward Details

Your Reward: ⚠️ Disputed on our own page: "£10 off" in the headline against "20% off your first purchase" in the answers, on a site given as the Indian store. Treat the percentage as the more specific and check in your account.
Referrer Reward: ⚠️ Stated in our answers as 10% off your next purchase — not the "£10" our headline promised.
Minimum Purchase: Our record states a minimum purchase of ₹500 — a rupee figure, on a page whose headline was in pounds.
Validity: ⚠️ Our record states the programme is available in India only. Note that the Indian business is operated by franchise partner Quest Retail Pvt Ltd, a separate company from the UK business that entered administration in February 2024.
Available In: USA, UK, India, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, China, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, New Zealand, Greece, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Qatar
Referral Limit: No limit stated on the number of friends you can refer.
Payout Time: Not stated. ⚠️ A percentage discount on a future purchase is not a payment — it is worth something only when you next shop.
Eligibility: Our record states you must be an Indian resident and at least 18. ✅ Whichever country you are in, the company standing behind a gift card is the local operator, not the global brand.

Why Choose The Body Shop?

⚠️ UK administration, February 2024

Three months after Aurelius bought the business from Natura & Co. Over 80 UK stores closed and more than 750 jobs went.

£219m owed to suppliers, a quarter expected back

Unsecured creditors — the same queue a gift-card holder stands in. Twenty-five pence in the pound is what that queue looks like.

✅ India was unaffected, because it is a franchise

Operated by Quest Retail Pvt Ltd, a separate company. Its group CEO confirmed the news related to the UK only.

Franchise is the fourth structure we have documented

Distinct from buying out of administration, brand licensing and pre-packs. In a franchise the local operator can survive the brand owner's insolvency entirely.

About The Body Shop

Our page pointed at the Indian site while quoting rewards in pounds. Sorting that out leads to the genuinely useful fact: which company you are dealing with decides who honours your gift card.

**⚠️ Our page was confused about which country it was describing, so start there.**

**It gave the website as thebodyshop.in — the Indian store — while quoting the reward as "£10".** **Its answers then described something different again: 20% off a first purchase for the referred person, 10% off a next purchase for the referrer, and a minimum spend of ₹500.** ⚠️ **Pounds and rupees, fixed amounts and percentages, all describing one scheme.** ✅ **Treat the percentage version as the more specific and check it in your account — but the more important question turned out to be which company the page was about at all.**

**⚠️ WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BODY SHOP, AND WHERE.**

**In February 2024 The Body Shop's UK business entered administration** — **three months after the German private equity firm Aurelius acquired it from the Brazilian group Natura & Co.** **More than 80 British stores closed with the loss of over 750 jobs.** **US operations ceased and the French subsidiary moved toward liquidation.**

⚠️ **The scale of what was owed is worth stating plainly: suppliers were owed around £219 million and were expected to recover no more than a quarter of it.** ✅ **Those suppliers are unsecured creditors** — **the same queue a customer holding a gift card stands in** — **and a recovery of 25p in the pound is what that queue typically looks like.**

**In September 2024 the business was bought out of administration by a consortium led by the British cosmetics businessman Mike Jatania, under the private equity firm Auréa Group**, and **early trading under new ownership was reported as a £2 million profit on £28 million of sales in the first three months.**

**✅ AND NOW THE PART THAT EXPLAINS WHY INDIAN CUSTOMERS SAW NOTHING.**

**The Body Shop India is operated by Quest Retail Pvt Ltd, a franchise partner.** **Its group chief executive, Shriti Malhotra, stated at the time that the news related to the UK only and had no effect on The Body Shop India whatsoever.** **Across the world the brand runs in roughly 83 markets with more than 1,300 outlets, and most of those stores are operated by franchise partners** — **India, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea among them.**

⚠️⚠️ **THIS IS A FOURTH DISTINCT STRUCTURE, and this project has now documented all four. They are not interchangeable:**
**1. BOUGHT OUT OF ADMINISTRATION** — a buyer takes brand, domain and customer list but **not the liabilities**, so old gift cards become unsecured debts.
**2. BRAND LICENSING** — a brand-management company owns the name and never operates shops; when the licensee fails, the brand is untouched.
**3. PRE-PACK ADMINISTRATION** — the sale is arranged before the administration is announced, specifically so trading never stops.
**4. ✅ FRANCHISE — the local operator is a SEPARATE COMPANY that can survive the brand owner's insolvency entirely.**

**⚠️ AND HERE IS WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU RATHER THAN TO A LAWYER.**

✅ **In a franchise, your gift card, your loyalty points and your right to return something are obligations of the LOCAL OPERATING COMPANY** — **not of the global brand.** **So a Body Shop gift card bought in the UK was exposed to the UK insolvency. One bought in India was not**, **because a different company was standing behind it.** ⚠️ **The shop looks identical either way.**

**✅ The two-minute check that resolves this anywhere: find the registered company name and number in the website footer or on the receipt** — **it is frequently not the brand name** — **and look it up on the relevant companies register.** **This project has now applied that check to a fashion brand, an energy supplier, a lighting retailer and a cosmetics chain, and it has given a different answer every time.**

**✅ Two standing precautions that follow, and they apply to every retailer on this site:**
**• ⚠️ Never hold a large gift-card balance.** **Buy it, spend it. A gift card is an interest-free loan to a shop with no protection if the shop fails.**
**• ✅ Pay by a method with a chargeback or Section 75-type route** where one is available to you, **because that is a claim against your card provider rather than a place in the creditors' queue.**