Morgan Stanley and ABN Amro Hoare Govett are advising Body Shop International, the UK retailer, which has received a bid approach from the Mexican company Groupo Omnilife.

Sources close to the talks said that members of Morgan Stanley's UK mergers and acquisitions team had been hired to look at options for Body Shop. The investment bank has been close to the company for several years, although the business, founded by entrepreneur Anita Roddick in 1976, has yet to announce an M&A deal.