The beauty and healthcare giant could be sold to private equity firm Sycamore Partners as early as this week, according to reports
High street health and beauty giant Boots could be sold off in a whopping £8 billion deal this week following a series of store closures. The retail giant may be unloaded by its current owners, Walgreens Boots Alliance, who are grappling with financial woes, to a private equity firm in the wake of shutting down 300 stores.
According to Bloomberg, the deal with potential buyers Sycamore Partners could be unveiled as early as this week, casting doubts over Boots’ future on the high street. In June 2023, Boots revealed plans to shutter 650 outlets and by the close of 2024, it had sealed up 300, significantly shrinking its high street footprint from 2,200 shops to roughly 1,800.
However, since the cost-cutting exercise, the company’s performance has seen an uptick, reportedly making it more appealing to investors. From September to November 2024, overall retail sales saw a year-on-year increase of 8.1 per cent, with growth fuelled by online sales, its app, and its pharmacies.
Online sales witnessed a year-on-year surge of 23 per cent, digital sales rocketed by 13.8 per cent after investment in the app, and pharmacy sales also climbed by 5.8 per cent. This upward trend has sparked rumours that Sycamore might carve out Boots into a separate entity from Walgreens and Shields Health Solutions, and float it on the London stock market.
If split, it could signal a stronger focus on the UK market, but it does raise questions about whether the future will be centred online or on the high street. Plans remain unconfirmed, reports the Express.
High street expert Nick Bubb has touted Boots as “very floatable” amid a post-pandemic boost in the health and beauty sector. Retail guru Jonathan De Mello of JDM Retail Consultancy has added that it will “no doubt” lead to Boots being sold or taken public.
He added: “Boots has performed well over the past few years and is a leaner business overall now with fewer stores and staff, and no pension scheme liability. A stock market listing of Boots could potentially be quite attractive for investors at this point.”
Walgreens has been performing a £1 billion cost-saving exercise across the business following its market value declining by 80 per cent, due to high inflation impacting customer spending, as well as low reimbursement rates for filing prescriptions.
Tim Wentworth, who became chief executive in 2023, plans to remove many mid-level executives and close around 1,200 stores over three years.