The discussions, which have been under way since before Easter, involve the Canadian billionaire Weston family's Whittington Investments and Australia's Sigma Healthcare, the Financial Times first reported. Both parties are understood to be at a preliminary stage, and people familiar with the process say a London float remains an option Sycamore has not ruled out, as reported by City AM.

For operators, suppliers and high-street partners tied to Boots' 1,800-store UK footprint, the outcome carries direct commercial consequences. For policymakers trying to revive Britain's capital markets, it poses an uncomfortable question: can London attract a marquee domestic brand, or will private equity continue to route exits through trade sales?

Who is circling Boots, and why

The Weston family's interest runs through their Canadian operations. Whittington Investments controls the grocery chain Loblaws and the pharmacy business Shoppers Drug Mart, according to City AM's reporting. Adding Boots would give the Westons a transatlantic pharmacy and health-and-beauty platform with significant purchasing scale.

Sigma Healthcare, listed in Sydney and valued at roughly £18bn, is reportedly pursuing further international expansion, according to City AM. A Boots acquisition would represent a step-change in geographic reach for the Australian group, giving it access to one of Europe's largest pharmacy retail networks.

Sycamore itself is no stranger to retail restructuring. The New York-based firm acquired the entire Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7bn in 2025. Separating Boots and selling it at or near the reported £7.5bn price tag would allow Sycamore to recoup a substantial portion of that outlay while retaining the larger US Walgreens operation.

A London IPO had been expected to value Boots at around £7bn, according to a report in The Times. That the private-sale figure exceeds the mooted listing valuation may partly explain why Sycamore is entertaining bids. Private transactions avoid the discount that institutional investors typically demand in an IPO, as well as the execution risk of a volatile public offering window.

What a private sale means for the London IPO pipeline

London's IPO market has been historically weak since 2021. The Financial Conduct Authority responded with a package of listing-rule reforms in 2024, simplifying the dual-class share structure and easing eligibility requirements. The Treasury has supplemented those changes with tax incentives designed to coax companies, and their investors, back to the public market.

Boots had been widely cited as exactly the kind of listing that could signal a turning point. A well-known consumer brand, profitable, UK-headquartered, with broad retail investor appeal. If it opts instead for a private exit, the symbolism is difficult to overstate.

The pattern is familiar. In recent years, several large UK-linked businesses have chosen sales to trade buyers or secondary private-equity deals over a London float. Regulatory reform may have lowered the barriers to listing, but it has not, so far, altered the calculus for sellers who can achieve a cleaner, faster exit through a bilateral deal.

That said, the process is at an early stage. City AM reports that the float remains the option "still preferred" by Boots' owners, citing a report in The Times. Whether that preference survives a competitive bidding process is another matter.

Boots by the numbers: profit, stores and turnaround progress

Boots disclosed its latest annual results on Tuesday, reporting pre-tax profit of £337m, up 25%, on revenue of £7.5bn, up 3%, for the year to August 2025, according to the company's figures as reported by City AM. Retail sales rose by nearly 6%, suggesting the core health-and-beauty proposition is gaining share even as the broader UK high street remains under pressure.

The chain operates more than 1,800 stores across Britain. Founded as a family herbal medicine shop in Nottingham in 1849, it has been through several ownership structures. It was listed in London as part of Alliance Boots until 2007, when KKR acquired the business in what was the first-ever leveraged buyout of a FTSE 100 company. American pharmacy group Walgreens took a 45% stake in 2012 and later absorbed Boots into the Walgreens Boots Alliance.

The improving profit trajectory matters for any prospective buyer. A 25% jump in pre-tax earnings demonstrates operational momentum, but the relatively thin margin on £7.5bn of revenue, roughly 4.5%, also underlines how capital-intensive pharmacy retail remains. Whoever acquires Boots will need to sustain investment in store refurbishment, digital health services and supply-chain efficiency.

New leadership under Alex Baldock

Boots is preparing for a change at the top. Alex Baldock, the former chief executive of Currys (LSE: CURY), is set to take over as Boots' new chief executive later this year, in a move first reported by Sky News, according to City AM.

Baldock left Currys in March after overseeing a widely praised turnaround of the electricals retailer. Shares in Currys fell 11% on the announcement of his departure, as reported by City AM, a measure of the market's regard for his tenure.

His appointment signals that Sycamore wants an operator with public-company discipline and a track record in multi-site retail. Whether Baldock ends up leading a listed entity or a privately held one will depend on how the current sale talks develop.

What happens next

The dual-track process, pursuing both a private sale and a potential IPO, is standard practice for private-equity exits. It allows Sycamore to test buyer appetite while keeping the listing option alive as a backstop, or as competitive tension to drive up bids.

For the London Stock Exchange, the stakes extend beyond a single listing. Losing Boots to a trade sale would reinforce the narrative that reform alone is not enough to rebuild the IPO pipeline. For UK suppliers, landlords and pharmacy partners, the more immediate concern is simpler: who will own the business, and what will they prioritise.

Boots declined to comment, according to City AM.