Beauty Bay: cult online UK beauty store website saved from sudden administration - is it closing down?
After days of uncertainty, the retailer’s team and cult-favourite brands have a future secured ✨
- UK online beauty retailer Beauty Bay has been rescued from administration days after collapsing
- French company AA Investments Group has bought the business, securing jobs and operations
- But customers will have to wait to shop again as the website remains temporarily down
- Beauty Bay stocks over 200 brands, including Anastasia Beverly Hills, MAC, and Clinique
- Founders Arron and David Gabbie praised staff and customers for 27 years of support
Customers of a British online beauty giant have been told the brand will continue trading after it was rescued from administration just days after collapsing.
Retailer Beauty Bay, which sells products from more than 200 brands, fell into administration on March 6 after running into what were described as “financial difficulties”.
At the time, its website was taken offline as the business prepared to cease operations, but a last-minute sale has secured the future of the company and helped protect jobs.
The business has now been acquired by AA Investments Group for an undisclosed sum, in a deal that secures the brand itself as well as its operations, allowing the company to continue under new ownership.
When will Beauty Bay be back?
For shoppers, there may still be a short wait before they can start ordering again.
Beauty Bay’s website currently remains offline, displaying a message to visitors that reads: “It’s official. BEAUTY BAY is reopening soon. Stay tuned.”
Founded in 1999 by brothers Arron and David Gabbie, Beauty Bay grew from a niche cosmetics retailer into one of the UK’s best-known online beauty destinations, serving more than five million customers.
Over the years, the platform became particularly popular with younger shoppers looking for cult skincare and makeup products, as well as hard-to-find international brands.
Among the well-known names stocked by the site are Anastasia Beverly Hills, MAC Cosmetics and Clinique, alongside hundreds of other beauty and skincare labels.
Rick Harrison, the administrator overseeing the process, said the rescue deal ensures the well-known brand can continue operating.
He said: “Since its inception in 1999, Beauty Bay has grown to become one of the UK’s leading online beauty retailers, selling well-known cosmetics and cult brands to over five million customers.
“We are pleased to have concluded this transaction, which will see the brand continue under new ownership, and wish everyone connected with the business all the best for the future.”
In a joint statement, founders Arron and David Gabbie thanked staff and customers for their support during the company’s 27-year history.
They said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to our brilliant team who have helped to make Beauty Bay everything that it is today. Their commitment and support over the last 27 years have been unwavering, no more so than over these past few weeks.”
The company has not yet confirmed when its website will reopen to customers.