The chief executive of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street pharmacy chain, is stepping down after its owner’s plans for a £5bn sale or stock market listing stalled.
Sky News understands that Sebastian James, who has run Boots since 2018, will leave the company in November.
City sources said this weekend that he has accepted a new role in the health sector.
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His departure comes shortly after it emerged that New York-listed Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), which owns the British retailer, has decided for the second time in two years not to pursue a sale or float of the chain on the stock market.
An announcement regarding Mr. James’ departure is expected in the coming days.
It is not yet thought that the WBA has chosen a successor.
James, who previously ran electricals retailer Dixons (now called Currys), recently endorsed Sir Keir Starmer – a notable move due to his long friendship with Lord Cameronthe Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
His departure from Boots will come during the Nottingham-based company’s 175th anniversary.
Boots employs around 52,000 people and trades in around 1,900 stores.
Its recent trading performance has been strong, with the WBA saying this week that like-for-like sales at Boots during the quarter to the end of May were up 6% and 5.8% across its retail and pharmacy operations, respectively.
One source said James oversaw a successful turnaround, with market share growing for 13 consecutive quarters.
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It was a rare bright spot for the WBA, which has fallen on hard times and seen its shares plummet.
A WBA spokesperson said this week: “As the Walgreens Boots Alliance continues a strategic review of the company’s assets, we are taking a critical look at Boots.
“While we believe there is significant interest in this business at the right time, Boots’ growth, strategic strength and cash flow continue to be important contributors to the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
“We are committed to continuing to invest in Boots UK and finding innovative ways for this business to reach its potential.”
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During a previous auction in 2022, only one bidder – a consortium between Apollo Global Management and Reliance Industries – submitted a formal bid worth around £5.5 billion.
However, growing concerns about the global economy have raised serious doubts among the big banks that help finance leveraged buyouts, with Boots being among the biggest such deals in Europe.
Among the other challenges facing potential acquirers at the time was finding a suitable solution for the £8 billion pension scheme of Boots – one of the UK’s largest private pension funds.
This problem has now been resolved through an insurance agreement concluded with Legal & General.
Like many retailers, Boots has had a turbulent pandemic, announcing 4,000 job cuts in 2020 as a result of a restructuring of its Nottingham headquarters and store management teams.
Just before the COVID During the pandemic, Boots set aside around 200 of its UK stores for closure, a reflection of changing shopping habits.
Boots’ heritage dates back to the time when John Boot opened a herbal medicine shop in Nottingham in 1849.
It opened its 1,000th store in the United Kingdom in 1933.
In 2006, Boots merged with Alliance Unichem, a medicines wholesaler, with buyout firm KKR acquiring the combined group in an £11 billion deal the following year.
In 2012, Walgreens acquired a 45% stake in Alliance Boots, completing the acquisition of the business two years later.
Boots declined to comment on James’ departure on Saturday.
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