Nocturnal 
Boots has been sold in a £6.7bn ($8.9bn) deal that hands control of its 1,800 stores across the UK and Ireland to one of Canada’s richest families, as confirmed by the BBC.
Wittington Investments, the holding company of the billionaire Weston family, announced on Wednesday it had agreed to buy the 177-year-old chain from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.
The deal doesn’t just cover the familiar high street shops. It also includes Boots Opticians, the No7 Beauty Company, and Boots’ operations in Thailand and its franchised businesses, according to the BBC.
Not everything is changing hands, though. Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany will stay with Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family, who had previously owned the wider Boots Group.
Who are the Westons?
The Weston family’s Canadian arm already owns the grocery chain Loblaw and pharmacy business Shoppers Drug Mart, and previously owned London’s Selfridges department store between 2003 and 2021, before selling it for $4bn (£3bn).
A separate UK branch of the Weston family happens to be the majority owner of Associated British Foods, the parent company of Primark, though it’s Wittington Investments doing the Boots deal here, not the Primark side of the family.
Forbes-style rich lists have ranked the Westons fifth on this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, with a combined fortune of almost £19bn, so this is far from their first major retail acquisition.
Wittington has secured the purchase in partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Toronto-based investment firm. Galen Weston, who chairs Wittington, will become Boots’ new chairman once the deal completes.
“Boots is one of Britain’s most enduring businesses, with a rich heritage, a trusted name and a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland,” Weston said, as quoted by the BBC.
Boots chief executive Alex Baldock also welcomed the takeover, telling The Sun: “Boots matters. Every day, our colleagues give millions of people longer, healthier and happier lives.”
Why it matters
Boots began life as a simple herbalist store opened by John Boot in Nottingham in 1849, offering cheaper alternatives to traditional medicines. Nearly two centuries on, it’s one of the most recognisable names on Britain’s high streets, known for everything from prescriptions to meal deals.
The chain’s ownership has been in flux for two decades, with various takeovers discussed and sometimes completed. It’s also been hit by falling footfall as more people work from home instead of commuting into town and city centres, and has closed hundreds of branches, leaving it with roughly 1,800 stores and 51,000 employees.
Despite that, Boots has reportedly performed well in recent years against stiff competition and changing shopping habits.
Weston has signalled the new owners plan to invest further, including upgrading stores and expanding healthcare services, saying there was “a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership.”
What happens next
The takeover is expected to complete in early 2027, according to the BBC, though Sharecast reports the deal is set to close in the first quarter of next year. Until then, it will be business as usual on the high street, with Boots continuing to operate under its current ownership while the sale works its way through to completion.
