A familiar local brand name on Britain’s high streets is set to vanish after 233 years, as WHSmith has agreed to sell its entire town centre store network.
In a deal worth £76 million, investment firm Modella Capital will take ownership of all 480 WHSmith high street shops, with plans to rebrand them as TG Jones.
While the WHSmith name will disappear from town centres, it will continue to operate in its travel-focused locations, including airports, railway stations, motorway service stations, and hospitals. The decision to sell marks a strategic shift by WHSmith, which now generates 75% of its revenue and 85% of its trading profit from travel retail.
Modella Capital, which also owns HobbyCraft in the UK, has confirmed that TG Jones is not named after any individual but was created to maintain a sense of heritage and familiarity. A spokesperson for Modella Capital explained:
“TG Jones feels like a worthy successor to the WHSmith brand. The name carries the same sense of family and reflects these stores being at the heart of everyone’s high street.”
WHSmith, originally founded in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, has been a staple of the British high street for generations. The business evolved from a single news vendor stall to a retail giant, known for books, stationery, and convenience shopping. However, with changing shopping habits and a growing focus on travel retail, the company has chosen to pivot its strategy.
While the rebrand signals the end of an era for WHSmith on the high street, Modella Capital’s plans for TG Jones remain unclear. Whether the stores will undergo major changes in product offerings or services is yet to be announced.
