New name for WH Smith shops revealed as High Street chain sold

WH Smith has agreed to sell its UK high street chain to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital in a deal valuing it at £76 million, and will be rebranded. The sale does not include the retailer’s travel locations, such as shops in airports and train stations – nor the WHSmith brand.

All the approximately 480 stores and 5,000 staff working for the high street businesses will move under Modella Capital’s ownership as part of the deal. The estate – not including the travel locations – are set to rebrand as TGJones, the company revealed.

Group chief executive Carl Cowling said: “As we continue to deliver on our strategic ambition to become the leading global travel retailer, this is a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on travel. As our travel business has grown, our UK high street business has become a much smaller part of the WHSmith Group.

“High Street is a good business; it is profitable and cash generative with an experienced and high-performing management team. However, given our rapid international growth, now is the right time for a new owner to take the high street business forward and for the WHSmith leadership team to focus exclusively on our travel business. I wish the High Street team every success.”

WHSmith was founded in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna as a small news vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London. After Henry's death, his son William Henry Smith took over, and the company became WHSmith & Son.

By 1848, WHSmith opened its first railway bookstall at Euston Station, pioneering book retailing at train stations across the UK. The railway bookstalls made WHSmith a household name and expanded its presence nationwide.

The company continued to grow, opening more high street stores and railway stalls. In 1929, WHSmith became a publicly traded company. WHSmith introduced the first-ever self-service bookshops in the 1970s.

The company expanded internationally, opening stores in Europe, Canada, and the USA. In 2006, it split its high street and news distribution businesses, selling the wholesale division.

The company acquired Funkypigeon.com, an online greeting card retailer, in 2010. It expanded internationally, opening stores in airports across the Middle East, Asia, and North America.