Alliance Boots tops list of Britain’s biggest private firms

Alliance Boots has been ranked as the largest privately-owned company in Britain by sales revenues for the fourth consecutive year.

The pharmacy chain led the Sunday Times BDO Top Track 100 list after achieving a sales total of 22.4 billion pounds in 2012-13, coming out ahead of chemicals manufacturer Ineos, fuel supplier Greenergy, retailer John Lewis and the Swire conglomerate.

Although Alliance Boots saw a 2.6 percent fall in sales last year, its profits rose by 4.5 percent to 1.5 billion pounds and currently employs 75,000 people.

The firm is also on course to achieve further growth through its strategy of international expansion, which saw it sell a 45 percent stake to the US pharmacy giant Walgreens in 2012, while it has also acquired a 12 percent stake in China's Nanjing Pharmaceuticals.

Currently, Alliance Boots has a presence in more than 25 countries worldwide, with executive chairman Stefano Pessina expressing confidence that its current strategy will yield further value for shareholders.