THE WHAT? Walgreens Boots Alliance has announced the planned closure of some 300 Boots UK stores, triggering speculation that the drug store giant is preparing to put the British pharmacy chain up for sale once again, according to a report published by The Guardian.

THE DETAILS Boots UK delivered strong 13.4 percent sales growth in the most recent quarter but WBA plans to shutter stores that are close together in order to ‘focus investment more acutely in individual stores’. Staff affected by the closures will be redeployed.

THE WHY? WBA attempted to sell off its Boots chain last year but attributed its failure to find a buyer to the difficulty in obtaining finance at the time. The Guardian suggests that this evolution of the store estate is designed to make the high-street stalwart a more attractive prospect for acquisition.