Boots offloads £4.8bn pension scheme to Legal & General

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Boots has agreed to transfer a £4.8bn pension scheme to insurer Legal & General in a deal that paves the way for a potential sale of the pharmacy chain by owner Walgreens Boots Alliance.

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24 Nov 2023

The UK insurer will take on the assets and liabilities of the scheme, which covers 53,000 retirees, in a deal that Legal & General says is the largest single transaction of its kind by premium size.

The transaction could clear the way for Boots to be sold after its US owner abandoned plans to offload it last year, blaming an “unexpected and dramatic change” in market conditions.

Walgreens Boots Alliance said at the time that while there had been “significant interest” in the 174-year-old business, no offers had been received that reflected its potential value.

Some prospective acquirers were put off by the complications of a large defined benefit pension scheme, for which a new owner would have become responsible.

Rosalind Brewer, Walgreens’ former chief executive, at the time signalled that the company would consider other deal options. It would