Aurelius MD who led Body Shop deal has left the business

Within three months of buying The Body Shop and recently overseeing the administration of the beauty brand’s UK stores, Aurelius managing director Peter Wood has left the German private equity buyout specialist.

His abrupt departure comes as The Body Shop entered administration last week. It’s understood that post-acquisition, Aurelius discovered The Body Shop’s finances were in a much worse state than expected, sparking an urgent review over what went wrong during the due diligence process.

At the time of the deal’s announcement three months ago, Wood said on social media that he was excited “to bring the company back to its former glory”.

A person close to Aurelius told The Telegraph newspaper: “The business was found to be in a much worse financial position than it expected it to be. The deal was completed on January 1. Within a couple of weeks, they knew it was in a very different situation.”

The Body Shop’s UK operation  is now being run by administrators from FRP and bracing for a wave of store closures and job losses. However, Aurelius is understood to be in pole position as top creditor to reclaim the assets if no bidder materialises.

The retailer’s UK stores will remain open while administrators at FRP attempt to restructure the business and products will continue to be sold online.

The company’s most recent accounts show that The Body Shop posted a loss of £71 million in 2022, down from a £10 million profit, which came while the business was still owned by the Brazilian beauty giant Natura.

Aurelius has so far declined to comment on Woods’ departure.