Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Alliance Boots, is looking to China for his next big deal, nine months after completing the multibillion pound sale of a stake in the retailer and pharmaceutical wholesaler to Walgreens.

Just a few weeks after striking the deal with Walgreens, which could eventually see the US pharmacy chain acquire the whole of the group for ￡10bn, Alliance Boots bought a minority stake in Nanjing Pharmaceutical, China’s fifth largest pharmaceutical wholesaler by sales. Alliance Boots already owns 50 per cent of Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals, China’s sixth largest pharmaceutical wholesaler.

But Mr Pessina forecasts further consolidation in China, the world’s third biggest pharmaceutical market, and wants Alliance Boots to be at the forefront of this activity.