A beauty chain has hired administrators, putting jobs and stores in Suffolk at risk. 

The Body Shop, which has more than 200 shops around the UK – including one in Bury St Edmunds and one in Ipswich – has hired administrators after filing a notice late on Monday night. 

The new administrators are expected to find a buyer for the chain, but the future of the business, its stores and its employees is uncertain. 

The company, which sells ethically produced cosmetics and skincare products, was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon.

READ MORE: High Street retailer to appoint administrators as Suffolk stores at risk

The hiring of administrators comes only weeks after new owners, European private equity firm Aurelius, took over the chain on January 1.

FRP, the administrators of The Body Shop, said: "The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector.

"Having taken swift action in the last month, including closing down The Body Shop At Home and selling its business across most of Europe and in parts of Asia, focusing on the UK business is the next important step in The Body Shop’s restructuring.

"The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term.

"Creating a more nimble and financially stable UK business is an important step in achieving this."

The Body Shop employs about 10,000 people in the UK. 

The future of the Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich stores are not yet known.