Boots, the 177-year-old British pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold for £6.7bn to Canada's Weston family, one of the world's wealthiest industrial dynasties. The deal, confirmed Wednesday, transfers ownership from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family to Wittington Investments, a holding company controlled by the Westons. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027.
The Weston family acquisition includes Boots' retail operations across the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses. Sycamore Partners will retain ownership of Boots' Mexican operations, Farmacias Benavides, and its German subsidiary Alliance Healthcare Deutschland. Wittington Investments will operate Boots in partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Toronto-based holding company.
Boots operates approximately 1,800 stores and employs 51,000 people. The chain has contracted in recent years, closing hundreds of branches as office workers shifted to remote work and customer footfall declined in town and city centers. The business has nonetheless remained a fixture of British retail since founder John Boot opened the first herbalist store in Nottingham in 1849.
Sycamore Partners owned Boots for only 18 months before this sale. Retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of Savvy Marketing, said the frequent changes of ownership had been "an unhelpful distraction" but predicted shoppers would see limited immediate change. She expected that "over time an improved shopping experience" would result from new investment, particularly in health and beauty services, which she identified as a "massive area for growth."
Galen Weston Jr., who will become chairman of Boots, signaled plans for store 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 ranks fifth on the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List with a combined fortune of nearly £19bn. Beyond Boots, the family owns Canada's Loblaws grocery chain and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy business. The separate UK branch of the Weston family holds a majority stake in Associated British Foods, parent company of the Primark discount retailer.