The Westons Are Back In the second change of ownership in just over a year, the
By Paulbrooks Retailuk · October 9, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The Westons Are Back
In the second change of ownership in just over a year, the Weston family have agreed to buy Boots for £6.7bn.
This is a family who know British high streets. They owned Selfridges for nearly twenty years and made it one of the great department stores of the world. Now they are back, and they have chosen a name that has been part of British life since a single shop opened in Nottingham in 1849. Today that is around 1,800 stores across the UK and Ireland.
They also know the pharmacy, health and beauty business. Through Loblaw, the Westons own Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada's largest. Boots is not a trophy for them. It is a format they already know how to run.
For the 51,000 who work there, this is good news. Patient money, from owners who talk about stable long-term ownership and further investment.
For years Boots has been one line on someone else's balance sheet. Under the Westons, it becomes the main event. Galen Weston will chair Boots, aiming to "make a great business even better".
Nearly 180 years in, Boots has owners who think in decades. That is how heritage gets a future.
And it is how the British high street gets its next chapter. Written by people who plan to be around to read it.
Source: Sky News, 7 October 2026