Boots has revealed rising sales as the potential sale of the pharmacy chain rumbles on.
US parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance said a “strategic review” of the Nottingham-based UK business was in progress, amid speculation of takeover offers in recent weeks.
PA reports that US private equity firms Apollo and Sycamore partners are understood to be among those to have placed non-binding offers.
It comes as Boots continued its pandemic recovery, reporting a jump in sales driven by improving high street footfall.
It said UK sales grew by 15.2 per cent over the three months to February 28, compared with a year earlier.
It added that it witnessed “headwinds from the Omicron variant” but was optimistic about strong like-for-like trading.
Beauty sales were particularly strong over the period, the company said.
Meanwhile, flu vaccinations, Covid-19 testing and new online health services helped its pharmacy services business report almost 75 per cent sales growth.
Sebastian James, managing director of Boots UK & Republic of Ireland, said it is a “very exciting time” for the chain.
He said: “Boots continues to bounce back strongly from the pandemic and delivered another solid performance this quarter, with sustained retail and pharmacy sales growth and market share gains across all categories.
“Our strategic focus continues to be on transforming our beauty, healthcare and digital offerings and this quarter we made excellent progress – with strong take-up of our new and existing healthcare services while maintaining our leading position in the growing beauty category.”
