British health and beauty retailer Boots could be up for sale or floated this year, new reports suggest.

The retailer’s parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is reportedly putting pressure on executives to break up its portfolio of international businesses “as soon as possible” to focus on the US market, according to This is Money.

Investors and board members have said that alongside other operations in Europe, Boots is a “distraction” for the company.

The move represents the second time Walgreens has attempted to sell boots, with the company putting it up for sale at the beginning of last year for £7 billion.

At the time, it was reported that US private equity firms Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners were planning a buy-out of Boots.

But in June 2022, WBA said it would retain ownership of the company after no third party was able to make an offer that "adequately reflected the high potential value" of the business.

Sales at Boots grew by 15 per cent in December 2022, compared with the same month in 2021, with the company recording its best ever sales day during the quarter.

Share Story: