WH Smith has sold its 480 high street--or main street--stores to Modella Capital for £76 million (about $98.4 million) and will now focus on its travel business, particularly its 1,200 stores in airports, hospitals, railroad stations, and elsewhere in 32 countries.
The WH Smith brand is not included in the sale; the high street stores will be rebranded TG Jones, a made-up name apparently meant to be reminiscent of WH Smith. The stores will be headed by Sean Toal, who has been WH Smith's CEO of high street business. About 5,000 people are employed in the stores that are being sold. Modella Capital is an investment firm focusing on retail and consumer businesses in the U.K. and Europe; it owns several other retailers, including Hobbycraft and the Original Factory Shop.
WH Smith called its high street business "profitable and cash generative," but noted that travel is an increasingly large part of its operations, accounting for 75% of WH Smith revenue and 85% of its operating profit. International business accounts for 50% of the company's business.
In the past two years, WH Smith had stopped opening new high street stores, and closed some. In 2023, it had 550 high street stores, 70 more than now.
Carl Cowling, WH Smith Group CEO, commented: "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...
"With the ongoing strength in our UK Travel division, and the scale of the growth opportunities in both North America and the rest of the world, we are in our strongest ever position to deliver enhanced growth as we move forward as a pure play travel retailer...
"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."