Boots, a 177-year-old UK pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold to Canada's billionaire Weston family in an $8.9bn (£6.7bn) deal. Wittington Investments, the holding company, confirmed on Wednesday that it had agreed to buy Boots from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family. The chain has performed well in recent years despite challenges from rivals and changing shopping habits.
Boots started as a simple apothecary in Nottingham but has evolved into a stalwart of the High Street, expanding its business to include a vast range of health and beauty products, meal deals and travel accessories. The chain has seen lower footfall as people have switched to working from home rather than visiting town and city-centre offices every weekday. It has closed hundreds of branches across the UK in recent years, leaving it with about 1,800 stores and 51,000 employees.
In its most recent annual results, Boots generated £7.5bn in sales, a 3.2% increase from 2024. Retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said shoppers were unlikely to see much change to stores in the coming months, but added that what they can "expect over time is an improved shopping experience as the new owners invest in the business". She said health and beauty was a "massive area for growth", and fresh investment from its new ownership would help.
The last two decades has seen several changes of ownership. Sycamore only owned the retailer for 18 months, and Shuttleworth said the chopping and changing of owners had been "an unhelpful distraction". The company was established by John Boot, who opened the first herbalist store in Nottingham, offering an affordable alternative to traditional medicines in 1849. It has since expanded over the decades into selling various products, but health products have remained a key part of its business.
Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, will become chairman of Boots. He signalled the new owners had fresh plans for the chain, including shop upgrades and an expansion of healthcare services. "We see a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership, further capital investment, and the renewed operating focus required to serve customers with excellence for generations to come," he said.
The Weston family will be buying Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses. It is set be completed in early 2027. The Weston family owns the Canadian grocery chain Loblaws, pharmacy business Shoppers Drug Mart, and previously owned the London department store Selfridges from 2003 to 2021, before selling it for $4bn.
The Weston family was ranked fifth on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with a combined fortune of almost £19bn. Wittington will have operational control over Boots, it has secured ownership in partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Toronto-based holding company. Sycamore Partners, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, will retain ownership of The Boots Group's Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany.
Key points
- The deal is valued at $8.9bn (£6.7bn).
- The Weston family will become the new owners of Boots.
- The acquisition is expected to be completed in early 2027.
