Boots is up for sale — but who will buy it and what could it mean for the high street?

Boots

(Picture: PA)

Boots the Chemist is being beeped through the self-checkout till — but who will be in the bagging area to snap up Britain’s biggest pharmacy chain?

Umpteen private equity firms are said to be sniffing around Boots and analysts speculate supermarkets could be interested too, after US owner Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) fired the starting gun on a possible sale.