Body Shop stores in Durham, Morpeth and Middlesbrough to close, but Sunderland branch spared for now

Workers at North East branches of The Body Shop are facing redundancy after the chain announced further closures in the coming weeks, with a loss of 489 jobs.

The Durham branch is among them, but there is no news yet on the Sunderland store or Dalton Park outlet.

The high street skincare and cosmetics chain tumbled into administration earlier this month.

Administrators from FRP Advisory said the latest closures will take place over the next four to six weeks as part of a heavy restructuring aimed at preserving the brand.

The retailer shut seven shops in its first phase of restructuring after confirming plans to close nearly half of its then-198 UK outlets.

The latest announcement will leave the retail firm with 116 stores across the UK.

Tony Wright, joint administrator, said: “In taking swift action to right-size The Body Shop UK store portfolio, we have stabilised the business and are providing the best opportunity for this iconic brand to have a long-term, sustainable future.

“The UK business continues to trade in administration, and we remain fully focused on exploring all options to take the business forward.”

The UK shops closing are:

• Aylesbury
• Banbury
• Barnstaple
• Basildon
• Battersea
• Bedford
• Beverley
• Bexleyheath
• Blackburn
• Blackpool
• Bournemouth Commercial Rd
• Bolton
• Brixton
• Broughton Park
• Bury
• Camberley
• Carlisle
• Carmarthen
• Chippenham
• Cirencester
• Croydon
• Didcot
• Durham
• East Kilbride
• Edinburgh Gyle Centre
• Edinburgh Princes Mall
• Epsom
• Fareham
• Farnborough
• Glasgow Braehead
• Glasgow Fort
• Glasgow Silverburn
• Glasgow Station
• Grimsby
• Halifax
• Harlow
• Hastings
• Hempstead Valley
• High Wycombe
• Huddersfield
• Hull
• Ilford
• Ipswich
• Isle of Wight
• Islington
• Kendal
• Kings Lynn
• Leeds White Rose
• Lewisham Centre
• Lichfield
• Loughborough
• Luton
• Macclesfield
• Middlesbrough
• Morpeth
• Newton Abbot
• Northampton
• Oldham
• Perth
• Peterborough Queensgate
• Portsmouth
• Regent Street
• Salisbury
• Stafford
• Stanstead Airside
• Stratford Upon Avon
• Swansea
• Telford
• Thanet
• Trowbridge
• Wakefield Trinity Walk
• Walthamstow
• Wigan
• Woking
• Wolverhampton