Boots has been sold to the holding company of Canada’s billionaire Weston family for $8.9bn (£6.7bn).

The deal marks the second time that the pharmacy and retail chain has been acquired in the last 12 months, with Wittington Investments acquiring the British company from the private equity firm, Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore Partners had acquired Boots last year as part of its $23.7bn purchase of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

The FT reported that the acquisition is a return to UK retail for the Westons after it sold the luxury department store, Selfridges, for £4bn to a Thai conglomerate almost five years ago.

It added that performance at Boots has improved in recent years, but many of its 1,800 stores have received little investment in recent years.

Chair at Wittington’s investment vehicle, and the soon-to-be chair at Boots, Galen Weston Jr, stated: "We see a meaningful opportunity to make a great business even better through stable long-term ownership, further capital investment, and the renewed operating focus required to serve customers with excellence for generations to come."

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