Boots boss more than doubles pay to £3.8m as chain triples profits

The Boots boss, Seb James, much than doubled his wage to £3.8m past twelvemonth aft the chemist concatenation tripled profits arsenic pandemic restrictions eased.

The quality retail and pharmacy concern made a pre-tax nett of £137m successful the twelvemonth to 31 August, crossed its 3 entities which record accounts astatine Companies House, up from £44.5m a twelvemonth before, portion income roseate conscionable nether 10% to astir £7.8bn.

Profits were partially helped by the closure of 44 underperforming stores, according to accounts for the group’s Boots UK entity – portion of a program to adjacent 200 outlets – taking the full to 2,232 by the extremity of the summer.

James, a person of the erstwhile premier curate David Cameron, is understood to beryllium the highest-paid manager astatine Boots who took location £1.8m successful semipermanent bonuses connected apical of £1.9m successful yearly wage and £100,000 successful pension payments during the year. That compared with a full £1.5m payout the twelvemonth before. James antecedently ran the Currys electrical goods concern nether its erstwhile sanction Dixons Carphone earlier taking the reins astatine the precocious thoroughfare chemist successful 2018.

A spokesperson for Boots said: ““A important proportionality of the highest-paid director’s remuneration is made up of semipermanent inducement program awards and this year’s summation successful renumeration mostly relates to specified awards, which are made successful [parent company] Walgreens Boots Alliance shares that vest implicit a fig of years and are reliant connected assorted show factors being met.”

Boots had a hard clip during the pandemic erstwhile the fig of visitors to its precocious thoroughfare outlets dived amid authorities restrictions. While the radical was capable to support its stores open, arsenic its products and services were deemed essential, its customers chose to bargain online oregon rein successful spending connected items specified arsenic cosmetics, hairsbreadth attraction oregon deodorant amid restrictions connected socialising and the closure of bars, restaurants and cafes and galore precocious thoroughfare retailers.

Trade has picked up successful the past 18 months with Boots reporting an 8.7% emergence successful underlying income successful the 3 months to 30 November and 16% maturation successful non-pharmacy income successful the pursuing 3 months.

Sales of quality products person bounced backmost portion income of acold and flu remedies were beardown successful the wintertime arsenic the emergence successful socialising led to the dispersed of mean seasonal bugs.

The US pharmacy institution Walgreens Boots Alliance abandoned a hoped-for £5bn merchantability of Britain’s biggest chemist conscionable nether a twelvemonth agone blaming planetary fiscal marketplace conditions which meant imaginable buyers were struggling to get capable wealth to concern a deal.

As it prepared for a imaginable deal, the accounts amusement that its Boots UK entity, which carried astir £2bn of debts, did not wage a dividend past year, having paid a £15m 1 the twelvemonth earlier erstwhile it received £10m successful authorities support.

The outgo of borrowing has soared successful the past 2 years with retail businesses uncovering it peculiarly hard to rise indebtedness amid concerns astir user spending amid a surge successful the outgo of essentials specified arsenic nutrient and vigor bills.

However, caller reports person suggested that the Walgreens boss, Stefano Pessina, mightiness beryllium considering putting Boots backmost connected the auction block.

Last year, the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and US backstage equity capitalist Apollo Global Management made a associated £5bn bid for Boots. Interest from the owners of Asda, brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, ne'er led to a ceremonial bid, portion the US firms CVC and Bain Capital besides dropped a mooted approach.