Boots to be sold to Canada’s Weston family – reports

It looks like one of the UK’s biggest health and beauty chains, Boots, is on the verge of a sale with reports saying Canada’s Weston family is in advanced talks to buy it from Sycamore Partners. The talks are reportedly for a £7 billion deal that could be confirmed within a few days after months of negotiations.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the discussions and said a deal may be announce next week but it’s not yet finalised.

There had been earlier reports that an offer from the Westons had been rejected as being too low. That followed the family recusing an earlier £7 billion as a rival suitor pulled out.

Sycamore was also reportedly looking at the possibility of a stock market listing for Boots.

So who are the Westons? Chances are many of our readers have shopped at businesses they own or once owned. The Canadian branch owns the Loblaws supermarkets chain and Holt Renfrew as well as formerly owning Selfridges, with the UK branch of the family owning Fortnum & Mason and the parent company of Primark.

Boots has been up for sale before but the seller’s view of its value and potential buyers’ views have differed, sometimes by billions of pounds. But Boots is clearly a desirable property, even with the debate over its true value.

The company has faced some challenging periods but is in full recovery mode now and in the 12 months to the end of August 2025 (its latest accounts that are available) total revenue was up 3.2% to £7.545 billion comparable revenue also rose 5.8% and digital sales were up 18.3%. But the pre-tax profits figure jumped 25%. Post-tax profit of £261 million was up from £211 million in the previous year.