Boots in 65m rebrand

Alliance Boots has announced a £65m rebrand plan that will see its community pharmacies renamed as “your local Boots pharmacy”. The company is also closing 100 Boots stores at a cost of £35m.

The rebrand follows a four-month trial of the “your local Boots pharmacy” format, which Boots says lead to a “substantial” increase in sales.

The company’s latest trading update says full-year results are expected to be in line with management’s targets. It adds that current trading is ahead of expectations, with UK like-for-like full-year sales expected to grow 1.6%.

The news comes just weeks after Boots turned down a £9.7bn takeover approach from private equity firm KKR. Recent reports have suggested a second private equity firm – Terra Firma – is now considering a bid for the group.

Alliance Boots was formed last year by the £7bn merger of Boots and chemist group Alliance Unichem. The tie-up created one of Europe’s largest drugs, beauty and health groups, with sales of more than £13bn.