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• Wittington Investments, the Weston family's holding company, agreed to buy Boots and its associated businesses for $8.9bn including debt. • The deal covers Boots' UK and Ireland retail, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses; completion is expected in early 2027. • Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family will keep the Mexican and German wholesale businesses; Fairfax Financial takes 50% of the equity. • Galen Weston becomes chairman, promising long-term ownership, store upgrades and healthcare expansion for the ~1,800-store chain.
The 177-year-old pharmacy chain Boots is changing hands once again. Wittington Investments, the holding company of Canada's billionaire Weston family, has agreed to buy the business from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family for $8.9bn including debt, bringing an end to months of uncertainty about the future of one of Britain's most recognisable retailers. The agreement was announced on 7 October, according to the BBC's reporting on the deal.
The sale closes a remarkably short chapter. Sycamore, a US private equity firm, only took Boots private in August 2025 as part of its roughly $10bn takeover of parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance, separating the British chain as a standalone business. Its preference had been to float Boots on the London stock market; instead, after rejecting an approach from the Westons as recently as August, it has sold to the Canadians outright.
Under the definitive agreement, Wittington will acquire Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, the Boots Opticians chain, the No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses — collectively the consumer-facing core of the group. The total purchase consideration is $8.9bn, or about £6.7bn, including assumed debt, according to the official announcement.
Not everything changes hands. Sycamore Partners, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, will retain ownership of the group's wholesale interests: Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027.
Financing the deal is a partnership with Toronto-based Fairfax Financial, which signed an equity commitment letter for up to about $2.3bn and is expected to own 50% of Boots' equity once the deal closes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Operational control will sit with Wittington, and Galen Weston — Wittington's chairman — will become chairman of Boots.
The buyers bring deep roots in precisely the businesses Boots operates. Wittington is the controlling shareholder of George Weston and, through it, Loblaw, Canada's largest food retailer and operator of the country's Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy chain. The family previously owned the British department store Selfridges from 2003 to 2021, and its British branch remains the majority shareholder of Associated British Foods — the owner of Primark — as well as Fortnum & Mason, the Journal's deal coverage noted.
Galen Weston framed the acquisition as a return to long-term stewardship. "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," he said. "We see a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better." The family ranks fifth on the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of around £19bn, and has promised shop upgrades and an expansion of healthcare services under what it calls "stable long-term ownership."
For context on the family's wealth and influence, see Verity's business section, which covers major UK corporate deals.
Few British brands carry Boots' weight. The chain trades from about 1,800 stores and employs more than 50,000 people, making it one of the country's largest private employers. In 2025 it generated revenue of £7.5bn, a 3.2% increase on the previous year — growth achieved even as the company shuttered more than 300 stores in recent years as shopping habits shifted online and costs rose.
!Decorated pharmacy jars lined along shelves, recalling the heritage of the 177-year-old Boots chain. Decorated pharmacy jars lined along shelves, recalling the heritage of the 177-year-old Boots chain. Credit: Wellcome Collection / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The Times reported that Sycamore had been hoping for a valuation above £7bn and that the sale dashed City hopes of a London listing — a listing that would have been one of the exchange's biggest in years. Instead, Boots joins a lengthening list of British household names now in overseas hands, a trend covered regularly in Verity's UK news coverage.
The company is now led by Alex Baldock, the former chief executive of Currys who oversaw a turnaround at the electricals retailer and joined Boots this month knowing a sale was a "possibility." On Wednesday he said: "For all of our social impact and commercial success to-date, the opportunity ahead is even greater."
Wittington says the deal "brings long-term ownership and capital to build on Boots' position as the leading pharmacy and health and beauty retailer in the UK and Ireland." Concretely, the family has pledged investment in stores and online, shop upgrades and an expansion of healthcare services — a bet that pharmacies can play a bigger role in frontline care as NHS pressures grow.
The contrast with private-equity ownership is deliberate. Sycamore's managing director Stefan Kaluzny said: "One year ago, we re-established Boots as a standalone company," positioning the sale as the completion of a separation project rather than a retreat. A Reuters commentary argued the new owners bring a "needed retail tonic," noting the Westons' decades of experience in pharmacy and beauty retail through Shoppers Drug Mart.
Whether the family can return Boots to growth on the high street remains the open question. Online competition, rising wage costs and broader pressures facing retailers — from online fashion's squeeze on the high street, to slowing labour markets — will test the promise of patient capital. Read more on Verity's homepage and learn about our editorial mission.
Wittington Investments, the holding company of the Weston family based in Canada, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Boots and its associated businesses from majority owner Sycamore Partners, in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family. Toronto-based Fairfax Financial is backing the deal with an equity commitment of up to about $2.3bn, and is expected to own 50% of Boots' equity after closing. Wittington will have operational control, and Galen Weston, Wittington's chairman, will become chairman of Boots.
Wittington will acquire Boots' retail operations in the UK and Ireland, the Boots Opticians chain, the No7 Beauty Company, and its Thailand and franchised businesses. The total purchase consideration is $8.9bn including assumed debt. Sycamore Partners, together with Pessina and his family, will retain ownership of the group's other interests — Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland.
Sycamore Partners only took Boots private in August 2025 as part of its takeover of parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance, which valued Boots as a standalone business. The private equity firm had initially hoped to list Boots on the London stock market, but talks with the Weston family — which reportedly had an offer rejected as recently as August — culminated in the outright sale. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
Boots is a 177-year-old icon of the British high street, trading from about 1,800 stores and employing more than 50,000 people across the UK and Ireland. In 2025 it generated £7.5bn in revenue, up 3.2% on the previous year, even after closing more than 300 stores in recent years as part of a restructuring.
The new owners are promising "long-term ownership and capital" to build on Boots' position as the UK and Ireland's leading pharmacy, health and beauty retailer. Galen Weston said he saw "a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better," and the family has pledged to invest in stores and online, upgrade shops and expand healthcare services. New chief executive Alex Baldock, the former Currys boss, said "the opportunity ahead is even greater."
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