The company handling the sale of The Body Shop in the UK has set a deadline for buyers to submit bids in a bid to protect 1,500 jobs.
The BBC understands that FRP Advisory, which is overseeing the sale, has asked companies to submit offers by next Tuesday.
The Body Shop continues to operate 112 stores in the UK after private equity firm Aurelius put the company into administration in February, just months after buying it.
There are 75 companies expressing interest in The Body Shop, but Aurelius is not believed to be among the bidders.
Before it collapsed, The Body Shop employed 2,200 staff and had 198 stores in the UK.
The Body Shop was a huge seller in the 1980s and 1990s, but it now faces increasing competition from brands like Lush and Rituals, which also focus on natural beauty products.
The Body Shop was founded in Brighton in 1976 by the late Anita Roddick.
What started as a single store in a seaside town has quickly grown into a global brand known for its range of cosmetics and fragrances and its ethical stance against animal testing.
Anita and her husband Gordon sold the business to French cosmetics giant L'Oreal in 2006, much to the dismay of some loyal fans who believed the French beauty giant's operations were at odds with The Body Shop's ethos.
Since then, The Body Shop has changed owners twice, most recently being acquired by private equity firm Aurelius in late 2023.
Shortly after the acquisition, Aurelius placed The Body Shop's UK branch into administration following disappointing sales over the key Christmas and January shopping periods.
