Sussex and Hampshire High-street pharmacy chain Boots is set to get a new owner after a deal worth around £6.7 billion was announced.
Sussex and Hampshire High-street pharmacy chain Boots is set to get a new owner after a deal worth around £6.7 billion was announced.
Canada’s Weston family, through its holding company Wittington Investments, has agreed to buy Boots in a deal valued at around $8.9 billion, including debt.
The acquisition includes Boots’ retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians and the No7 Beauty Company.
The deal will also bring one of Britain’s best-known high-street names under the control of a family with longstanding retail interests. The wider Weston family also has major interests in the UK through Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark.
Boots currently operates around 1,800 stores across the UK and employs approximately 50,000 people.
The retailer has a significant presence across Sussex and Hampshire.
In West Sussex, Boots currently lists stores in locations including Bognor Regis, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Lancing, Selsey and Worthing, with more than one branch operating in some towns.
Across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, Boots stores can be found in locations including Bexhill-on-Sea, Brighton, Crowborough, Eastbourne, Hailsham, Hastings, Hove, Lewes and Seaford.
Eastbourne has several Boots locations, including branches at The Beacon and Sovereign Retail Park.
Boots at The Beacon in Eastbourne - Credit: V2 Radio's Maddison Fox
In Hampshire, the retailer has stores in locations including Southampton, Fareham and Whiteley, alongside other branches across the county.
Wittington Investments also owns major Canadian retail businesses including grocery chain Loblaw and pharmacy group Shoppers Drug Mart.
The new owners have indicated they plan to invest in Boots stores, its online business and healthcare services.
The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in early 2027.
Boots was founded in Nottingham in 1849 and has grown into one of the best-known pharmacy, health and beauty retailers on the British high street.
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