£6.7bn deal announced to buy Boots' 1,800 UK and Ireland stores

A deal has been announced which would see the £6.7bn sale of the 1,800 Boots stores across the UK and Ireland.

Under the terms of the agreement, Canadian company Wittington Investments Limited, the holding company of the billionaire Weston family, will also acquire Boots Opticians and its No7 Beauty Company as well as its acquired debt.

Over 51,000 people work at Boots' stores and associated brands across the UK and Ireland - with the company being founded in Nottingham in 1849.

Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, who will assume the same position at Boots when the deal closes, said he had "great respect for Boots' legacy and leading market position".

He added: "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."

The Weston group already owns Canada's largest pharmacy, health and beauty business, Shoppers Drug Mart, through Loblaw Companies Limited.

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Alex Baldock, the recently appointed chief executive of Boots, said: "For all of our social impact and commercial success to date, the opportunity ahead is even greater."

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a Toronto-based holding company, is partnering with Wittington on the acquisition, though the latter will have operational control of the business.

Sycamore Partners, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, will retain ownership of The Boots Group's other interests in Farmacias Benavides and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland.

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Wednesday's announcement comes only a year after Sycamore took over Boots through the acquisition of parent firm Walgreens Boots Alliance, before splitting the business into divisions.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and is subject to regulatory approvals.

A return to UK retail for the Weston family

The move marks a return to UK retail for the family after they sold luxury department store Selfridges for £4bn in 2022.

The Weston family's British side is the majority owner of Primark through its parent firm Associated British Foods, which also owns grocery brands including Twinings and Ryvita.

The whole Weston family was ranked fifth on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with a combined fortune of almost £19bn.

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