The private equity firm owning the high street pharmacy chain Boots is reportedly in advanced negotiations to sell the business to the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family. According to a report by the Financial Times, the deal with Sycamore Partners is valued at $9bn (£7bn) and could be finalized as early as next week.
This acquisition would mark the prominent Canadian family’s return to the UK retail sector, coming four years after they sold the iconic department store Selfridges for £4bn in 2022. In Canada, the Weston family is well-known for operating the supermarket giant Loblaws and the pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart. Their UK-based relatives manage separate investments, including a controlling stake in Primark through Associated British Foods.
The current owner, Sycamore Partners, acquired the broader Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7bn in 2025 and has since divided the group into five independent entities. This latest development follows a failed attempt by Sycamore earlier this summer to sell Boots to the Australian pharmaceutical company Sigma Healthcare in a deal that would have valued the business at $10bn. It as has already split the group into five stand-alone companies.
Boots has a long history of shifting ownership. Originally founded in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, the chemist merged with Alliance Unichem in 2006. It was then bought by private equity giant KKR in 2007, before Walgreens acquired a 45% stake in 2012 and finished a complete takeover by late 2014. Boots, which was founded in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, has changed hands several times in the past 20 years.
Today, Boots operates 1,800 UK stores and employs roughly 51,000 staff, with 6,000 based at its Beeston headquarters near Nottingham. Financial results released this summer showed a 3.2% rise in annual revenues to £7.5bn for the year ending August 2025, while pre-tax profits jumped 25% to £337m, driven largely by high demand for beauty products and weight-loss treatments.
