The Dutch arm of the natural cosmetics group The Body Shop has gone bankrupt but the shops will remain open for the time being as curators explore the options for a restart.

The chain has 24 outlets in the Netherlands and their future had been uncertain following the bankruptcy of the British operations in February this year.

A number of British outlets have since reopened following a restart but the Dutch operations were not part of that deal.

The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976 and was one of the first to ban testing on animals. It has been sold and resold several times since then.