Boots, the iconic High Street pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in an $8.9 bn (£6.7 bn) transaction to Canada’s billionaire Weston family. Wittington Investments, the holding company, confirmed the agreement on Wednesday, stating it had bought the 177‑year‑old retailer from U.S. private‑equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.
Boots began as a modest apothecary in Nottingham in 1849 and has grown into a staple of the British high street, offering health and beauty products, meal deals and travel accessories. Despite a decline in footfall as shoppers shift to working from home, the chain has posted solid performance, reporting £7.5 bn in sales—a 3.2% rise from 2024—and employing about 51,000 people across roughly 1,800 stores.
Retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said customers are unlikely to see major changes in the near term but expect an improved shopping experience as the new owners invest. She highlighted health and beauty as a “massive area for growth” that fresh capital will help unlock.
Galen Weston, chairman of Wittington, will become Boots’ chairman and announced plans for shop upgrades and expanded 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 acquire Boots’ retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty and its Thailand and franchised businesses, with completion expected in early 2027. The deal also keeps the Westons’ Canadian grocery chain Loblaws and pharmacy business Shoppers Drug Mart in the mix, while the UK branch retains majority ownership of Associated British Foods, parent of Primark.
Sycamore Partners, together with Stefano Pessina’s family, will retain ownership of Boots Group’s Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany.
With the transaction, the Weston family’s combined fortune rises to almost £19 bn, ranking them fifth on the Sunday Times Rich List. The new ownership structure is set to bring stability after a period of rapid ownership changes over the past two decades.
