Who owns Superdrug?

A Hong Kong group. Superdrug's shops belong to Superdrug Stores plc, which is owned through A.S. Watson, the health and beauty business of CK Hutchison Holdings. CK Hutchison is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and is controlled by trusts founded by Li Ka-shing. Singapore's state investor, Temasek, has owned about a quarter of A.S. Watson since 2014.

Superdrug is not owned by Boots, and it does not own Savers: Savers is a sister company with the same parent.

What does the register show?

The shops are run by Superdrug Stores plc, company number 00807043, incorporated on 28 May 1964 and registered at 51 Sydenham Road, Croydon. Its registered activities are dispensing chemist and the retail sale of cosmetics and toiletries.

Its persons-with-significant-control register names one owner: AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited, company 04051648, with 75% or more of the shares and votes and the right to appoint the board. That company's own register entry says it has "no registrable person", because its owner sits outside the UK.

Superdrug's accounts for 2025 fill in the rest. They say its immediate parent is AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited, that it is "an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AS Watson Holdings Limited", a Cayman Islands company based in Hong Kong, and that its "ultimate parent undertaking and controlling party" is CK Hutchison Holdings Limited.

Who owns A.S. Watson?

Mostly CK Hutchison, and partly Temasek. CK Hutchison's 2025 results list A.S. Watson Holdings as 75% owned by the group. The other quarter dates from March 2014, when Hutchison Whampoa, CK Hutchison's predecessor, announced that Temasek was taking "an indirect equity interest of 24.95%" in A.S. Watson for HK$44 billion, with Hutchison keeping 75.05% "and control".

A.S. Watson had 17,042 stores in 31 markets at 30 June 2026, according to CK Hutchison's half-year results. In the UK its chains are Superdrug and Savers.

Who controls CK Hutchison?

The Li family. CK Hutchison's 2025 annual report shows Li Ka-shing with an interest in 30.36% of its shares, as founder of discretionary trusts and through companies he controls. Most of that, 26.26%, is held by the trustee of the Li Ka-Shing Unity Trust. His son Victor Li is the chairman. The largest other holder named is BlackRock, with 5.05%.

How did Superdrug come to be owned this way?

Superdrug was started by the brothers Ronald and Peter Goldstein; the company was incorporated in 1964 and its first shop opened on Putney High Street in 1966, according to the British Beauty Council. The same source says it was sold to Woolworth Holdings, later Kingfisher, in March 1987 for £57 million.

Kingfisher sold it in 2001. Its announcement of 20 July 2001 says Superdrug went to Kruidvat, a Dutch health and beauty group, for £280 million in cash including the repayment of debt.

A year later Kruidvat itself was bought. On 22 August 2002 Hutchison Whampoa announced that A.S. Watson had offered about €1.3 billion for the Kruidvat group, including "Superdrug in the UK". Superdrug has been part of A.S. Watson since.

Is Superdrug about to be floated?

Possibly, but nothing has been decided. In January 2026 CK Hutchison told the Hong Kong exchange that it had "noted certain reports in the media" about separate listings of its health and beauty business, and that "no decision has been made". Since then the plan has been reported rather than announced: Bloomberg reported in January 2026 that CK Hutchison had picked banks for a listing of A.S. Watson in Hong Kong and London, and the Financial Times reported in October 2026 that the listing had been put off to 2027.

If it went ahead, Superdrug would still belong to A.S. Watson. What would change is who owns A.S. Watson: some of its shares would be on the stock market, and Temasek would have a way to sell.

How big is Superdrug?

Superdrug Stores plc's accounts for the year to 27 December 2025 show revenue of £1,720 million, up 5.2%, an operating profit of £154.7 million and a profit of £110.6 million after tax. It paid its parent £75 million in dividends. It employed an average of 15,037 people and opened 22 new stores in the year.

The accounts do not give a total store count. CK Hutchison's 2025 results describe Superdrug as "operating over 770 stores across the UK and Ireland", and in February 2026 Superdrug said it planned 30 more.

Does Superdrug own Savers?

No. Savers Health and Beauty Limited, company 02202838, has the same immediate parent as Superdrug, AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited, and the same owner above it. Its accounts for 2025 show 536 stores and revenue of £835.6 million. The two chains are sisters, not parent and subsidiary.

Is Superdrug independent?

Not by our verified independent badge, which marks a locally and privately owned business rather than a chain, franchise or private-equity estate. Superdrug is a chain of more than 770 shops, and a Superdrug is a branch of it.

The useful label is national chain, owned by a listed Hong Kong group. Its main rival is owned very differently: Boots belongs to an American private equity firm and the Pessina family, and agreed in October 2026 to be sold again. For two other beauty names, see who owns The Body Shop and who owns Lush.

For independents owned by the people who run them, see our pharmacies in Lincoln, hair and beauty in Lincoln and hair and beauty in Hackney E8.

Questions people ask

Is Superdrug British?

It was founded in Britain and is still run from Croydon, but it has been owned from Hong Kong since 2002, through A.S. Watson and CK Hutchison.

Is Superdrug owned by Boots?

No. They are rivals with different owners. Boots belongs to The Boots Group, controlled by Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.

Is Superdrug Chinese-owned?

Its ultimate owner, CK Hutchison, is based in Hong Kong and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and is controlled by trusts founded by the Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing. About a quarter of A.S. Watson belongs to Temasek, which is owned by the government of Singapore.

Who owns Savers?

The same group as Superdrug: A.S. Watson, through AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited.

Last checked 15 October 2026. This article uses the Companies House records, persons-with-significant-control registers, confirmation statement made on 28 September 2026 and accounts to 27 December 2025 of Superdrug Stores plc (company 00807043), AS Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Limited (04051648) and Savers Health and Beauty Limited (02202838); CK Hutchison's 2025 annual results, 2025 annual report, results for the half year to 30 June 2026 and Hong Kong exchange announcement of 21 January 2026; Hutchison Whampoa's announcements of 22 August 2002 and 21 March 2014; Kingfisher's announcement of 20 July 2001; the British Beauty Council's history of Superdrug of 6 June 2024; Retail Gazette's reports of 9 February and 20 July 2026; Bloomberg's report of January 2026 as carried by Reuters; and the Financial Times report of October 2026 as carried by The Standard. What is not claimed: Superdrug's exact store count, since its accounts do not give one; Superdrug's own revenue within CK Hutchison's figures, which are given only for Western Europe; whether Temasek's holding has changed since 2014; whether or when A.S. Watson will be listed; and the 1987 sale date and price, which rest on one secondary source. If you spot something that needs correcting, email Highstreett and we will review it.