Boots sold to Canadian billionaire Weston family in £7bn deal
Boots has been sold to a Canadian billionaire family in a £7bn deal, with no current plans to close stores or lose jobs before the deal completes early next year.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Boots, the high street pharmacy and beauty chain, is being sold to a Canadian billionaire family in a deal worth nearly £7 billion. The buyer is the Weston family, which owned Selfridges until 2021 and has a background in pharmacies.
The deal covers about 1,800 stores, 51,000 employees, the Boots chemists, the opticians and the No7 beauty brand.
What the deal covers: - Around 1,800 stores. - 51,000 employees. - Boots chemists and opticians. - The No7 beauty brand.
Boots was founded in 1849 by Jesse Boot in Nottingham. It has been part of British high streets for 177 years, with archive footage from 1948 showing how long the brand has been part of national life.
According to someone close to the deal, there are no plans at present to close stores or cut jobs. The deal is not expected to complete until early next year, so customers should not see changes in stores or in their shopping until at least then. Boots Advantage Card points are safe for now.
The new owners are said to be especially interested in the beauty and wellness departments and in digital healthcare services. Those services include access to online doctors who can prescribe treatments for certain health conditions. The Weston family is expected to invest in, develop and grow those parts of the business over the coming years.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Boots is being acquired in a deal worth nearly £7bn. | |
| The Boots takeover is not due to complete until early next year, with no current plans to close stores or cut jobs. | |
| The Weston family, the prospective new owners of Boots, have a background in pharmacies and owned Selfridges until 2021. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 focused on the practical impact of the takeover for staff and shoppers, asking directly about store closures, jobs and Advantage Card points. It set out the size of the business and the new owners' pharmacy background, then highlighted their interest in beauty, wellness and digital healthcare. The tone was explanatory and reassuring, with no discussion of regulatory hurdles or financing.
- “I spoke to someone close to the deal who told me that for the first part there are no plans currently to close any stores or lose any jobs.”
- “I did ask a question that Boots customers might be wondering about tonight and that's what's going to happen to their advantage card points and I was told that they are safe for now.”
- “they're particularly interested in the beauty and the wellness departments and the digital healthcare services.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.