Boots expected to be sold off by new private equity owner

The US owner of Boots is to be taken private in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal that will mean further uncertainty for thousands of workers at the UK-based pharmacy chain.

- Mark Sweney Sarah Butler

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which operates more than 1,800 Boots stores in the UK, has been sold to the US private equity firm Sycamore Partners after struggling as customers have turned to online shopping for cheaper products.

Walgreens' market value has collapsed by 90% since 2015 and is valued at $9.3bn. It has debt and lease obligations of $30bn.

Sycamore is expected to retain the US retail business and sell or spin off the rest, including the UK chemist Boots, which traces its roots to John Boot's first Nottingham store in 1849.

Boots has more than 50,000 employees, including at its headquarters in Nottingham, who face further uncertainty after more than three years of speculation over its future ownership.