Billionaire Weston family buys Boots for $9bn Retail The billionaire Weston family has struck a deal to buy Boots for nearly $9bn, scuppering hopes that the high street giant could return to the London Stock Exchange. Wittington Investments, the holding company for the Westons’ Canadian operations, said on Wednesday it will buy Boots from its private equity owners, Sycamore Partners. The deal brings [...]
Retailers’ woes stretch into second day after bearish Deutsche note Retail A sell-off affecting some of the UK’s largest retailers has extended into a second day, after an analyst warned the spectre of higher taxes in the Autumn Budget, a softening labour market and sticky inflation will dent consumers’ spending habits. Shares in AB Foods, Wickes and B&Q-owner Kingfisher all shed between one and 1.5 per [...]
Primark owner AB Foods’ shares drop after investors advised to sell up Retail Shares in Associated British Foods, which owns British stalwarts like Primark, Kingsmills and Twinings, dropped this morning after stockbroker Deutsche Numis downgraded its rating from ‘hold’ to ‘sell’. Shares in the FTSE 100 firm, which owns businesses in five segments including grocery, sugar, agriculture, ingredients and retail, dropped more than three per cent in early [...]