He is the British millionaire dubbed the ‘Cosmetics King’ who is leading a rescue bid to save The Body Shop. 

Tycoon Mike Jatania is on the verge of sealing a deal that will drag the beloved chain out of the depths of administration. 

The self-confessed lover of a ‘good Bordeaux red wine’ and fine dining is one of Britain’s richest businessman and alongside his three brothers – Vin, Danny and George – the Jatanias are thought to be worth at least £650 million. 

They amassed their fortune by buying up unglamorous brands – such as Harmony hairspray and Lipsyl lip salve – and selling them off through family business Lornamead. 

Mike joined Lornamead in 1985 and became chief executive in 1990, once quipping: ‘The fact that I am the youngest and I run the group says a lot about my brothers and their judgment.’

The family business was sold to Hong Kong rival Li & Fung in 2013 for a reported $190 million to help swell the family’s bank balance further.  

The power couple used to live in the palatial grounds of Denham Place before it was put on the market for a cool £75 million last year

At one time the siblings all lived in penthouse flats in London‘s Marble Arch close to their parents and live by the motto ‘Let Dynasty not become Dallas’ in a nod not to become like the feuding families in the American soap opera. 

‘We are a business family, not a family business. The family is not involved in the day-to-day management. We provide long-term capital,’ he told the Evening Standard in 2014. 

‘We recognise that the family can become your biggest strength or your biggest weakness. There has traditionally been a saying “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”.

‘We recognise that we can learn from the mistakes of other families. You need very good communications and very clear roles. We have a formal family constitution.’ 

The Chelsea supporter, who likes to go scuba diving and to the gym, last year put his palatial Denham Place 12-bed mansion up for sale for £75 million in what would have been one of the largest ever country house deals. 

Previous residents of the 17th century building in Buckinghamshire include members of Napoleon Bonaparte’s family as well as Wall Street banker John Pierpont Morgan.

It is also said to have inspired scenes in James Bond movies.

Jatania bought the grand Grade I-listed property 25 years ago from British American Tobacco and had high hopes that global investors would be lured in to make a bid for the home.

He told Fortune last year he had high hopes that Denham Place’s history and its location would help flog it for more than its price tag. 

‘It wasn’t an easy number to settle on,’ he said. ‘We hope that it’ll have competitive tension and go for more.’ 

The 12-bed mansion is said to have inspired scenes in James Bond movies with previous residents including Napoleon Bonaparte’s family and Wall Street banker John Pierpont Morgan

It is still listed listed for sale on Sotheby’s more than a year later with £10 million being slashed from the original price

The home decorated in 22-carat gold leaf and Italian marble and has its own party room, cinema, and gym, with a four-bed detached cottage, and sunken garden within the grounds that are enclosed by a 10ft wall.  

It is still listed listed for sale on Sotheby’s more than a year later with £10 million being slashed from the original price.  

He told The Telegraph in 2006 that although ‘everybody likes to be richer’ he wanted ‘richness in life rather than richness in the bank account’.

‘I think richness in life is of course utilising your gains and the monetary side of success to really enrich your whole lifestyle in terms of the time you can spend doing the things you like to do. For me there is certainly life beyond work,’ he said. 

The entrepreneur now lives in millionaires’ playground Monaco with his glamorous wife Sonal who are often seen on the charity circuit scene with the family supporting The Prince’s Trust, Save the Children and orphanages in India.

They power couple wed in 2005 having fell in love when his brother introduced him to Sonal at Lornamead, where she worked as the firm’s European business development manager. 

She soon left the company with Mike telling the Telegraph ‘that when you have personal relationships you have got to choose. You can either stay there or finish the relationship. We both made a choice’.

It is a long way from his humble arrival to the UK in 1968 at the age of three when their father moved the family to Britain from Uganda after Asians were expelled from the country by Idi Amin.  

Mike’s investment company Aurea is leading a consortium to buy The Body Shop that also includes former Molton Brown chief Charles Denton who will head up the new team if the deal goes through. 

In a joint statement by FRP Advisory and Auréa, Jatania’s investment company which is leading the consortium, they said it would represent ‘the best outcome for creditors’.   

‘While the deal is not yet complete, we believe the combined experience of the consortium, together with the existing management team, represents the best outcome for creditors and will ultimately ensure the long-term success of The Body Shop,’ they said. 

British cosmetics tycoon Mr Jatania is leading a consortium to save beleaguered chain The Body Shop

The Body Shop collapsed into administration in February with the closure of 75 shops and the loss of 489 jobs

Set up in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick, the company became famous for its no-nonsense ethical trading ethos and refusal to test products on animals

Administrators hope the deal can be completed ‘in the coming weeks’ with due diligence checks now taking place, according to Sky News.

The Body Shop collapsed into administration in February with the closure of 75 shops and the loss of 489 jobs – just weeks after a new owner took control having vowed to ‘re-energise the business‘.  

According to Sky News, the owners of Next previously expressed an interest in a takeover of The Body Shop and Aurelius – the investment firm which took control only weeks before administrators were called in – was also reportedly among possible bidders.

Aurelius bought the high street brand in November 2023 for £207 million and sold off most of the business in mainland Europe and Asia since seeing administrators take over in the UK.  

Set up in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick, the company became famous for its no-nonsense ethical trading ethos and refusal to test products on animals.

Popular products which helped establish the brand’s name included bath bombs, White Musk fragrance and hemp hand cream.

The Body Shop was sold to L’Oreal for £675million by founder Dame Anita Roddick in 2006

Protesting against animal testing was a key business objective for the brand, with Anita leading the resistance  

In 2012, British actress and model Lily Cole (pictured) became the brand’s first global ambassador 

Made in Chelsea star and influencer Lucy Watson (pictured) partnered with the brand in 2018 in support of the #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting campaign 

In its true quirky style, the cosmetic store once offered miniature soaps that resembled different fruits (pictured) 

However in recent years it has seen its popularity in the UK with shoppers diminish due to the rise of rivals Lush and Holland and Barrett, and a growing online market of cheaper alternatives.

The firm also fell out of favour with some buyers after being sold to L’Oreal for £675million by Dame Anita in 2006 – a move that stunned many who saw the sale to a large corporation as running counter to the company’s values.

The Body Shop changed hands again in 2017 when the French cosmetics giant sold it to Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura&Co for €1billion.

After purchasing the brand, Aurelius said that ‘despite the challenging retail market there is an opportunity to re-energise the business to enable it to take advantage of positive trends in the high-growth beauty market.’

Anita Roddick: High Street pioneer who built £51m fortune then gave it all away before she died 

Founder Dame Anita Roddick pictured in 1984

Founded in 1976, The Body Shop was one of the first cosmetics companies to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and to promote fair trade with developing countries.

This was in large part to its founder, Dame Anita Roddick, who was a human rights activist and environmental campaigner.

She was an avid campaigner for environmental and social issues, including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue.

In 1990, she founded a charity called Children on the Edge, which helped disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

She founded The Body shop to earn an income for her and her two daughters while her husband was away in South America. Upon her husband’s return, he joined the business.

By 2004, The Body Shop has 1980 stores, more than 77 million customers and was voted the second most-trusted brand in the UK – ad the 28th top brand in the world.

But that same year, Roddick was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C. She didn’t reveal this until 2007. 

She was an avid campaigner for environmental and social issues, including involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue

She announced it by saying: ‘I have hepatitis C. It’s a bit of a bummer, but you groan and move on.’

Subsequently she promoted the work of the Hepatitis C Trust and raised awareness for the disease.

Roddick was said to believe she became infected with Hepatitis following a blood transfusion after the birth of her younger daughter. This was twenty years before the UK screened blood donors for the disease.

She tragically died of an acute brain haemorrhage in September 2007. Earlier, she had sworn to leave her fortune to charities rather than her families and friends – a promise she remained true to.

The businesswoman was always adamant she had no intention of ‘dying rich’ and her Will revealed she had given away her entire £15million fortune to charity before she died.

When she died, the gross value of her estate was £665,747 which was swallowed up by inheritance tax, leaving her net worth at nil.

She had previously described leaving money to your family as ‘obscene’ and cut her daughters Sam and Justine out of her will in 2005, which Sam called a ‘relief’.