One of the longest-established stores at Milton Keynes city centre to call in administrators

One of the oldest shops in the city’s shopping centre is set to call in administrators to handle an insolvency process this week.

The move by The Body Shop is likely to result in closure and job losses for some, if not all, of the company’s 200 UK stores and hundreds of employees.

The store in Midsummer Arcade at centre:mk was one of the first to move in to the new centre after it opened in 1979 and has been a household name ever since.

Founded in 1976 in Brighton by Anita Roddick, it became known for its ethical stance in refusing to stock products tested on animals and also its sourcing of ingredients from natural componants.

A few weeks before Christmas, The Body Shop UK was bought by private equity firm Aurelius but later it was revealed that trading over the festive period and early January had been weak and the company’s working capital was insufficient.

It is understood restructuring expert FRP Advisory will appointed as administrator later this week.

Sources told Sky News that the administrators are likely to consider shutting a significant number of the chain’s UK stores.

But it is not believed the administration process for The Body Shop UK stores will impact the brand's success in other parts of the world, where it employs 10,000 people and operates around 3,000 stores in 70 countries.

Recently its businesses across much of Europe and parts of Asia were sold to an unnamed buyer.

Aurelius and The Body Shop have so far declined to comment.