WH Smith, one of many UK’s oldest and most recognisable retail manufacturers, is ready to fade from the excessive road after 233 years following the sale of its excessive road division to Modella Capital for £76 million.
The historic books and stationery chain, established in 1792, has bought its whole portfolio of 480 UK excessive road shops — together with 5,000 workers and related property — to Modella, the proprietor of Hobbycraft and The Unique Manufacturing facility Store. The retailers will likely be rebranded as TG Jones, marking the tip of the WH Smith title on Britain’s excessive streets.
The WH Smith model itself was not a part of the sale, and can live on globally by means of the group’s fast-growing journey division, which operates retail shops in airports, practice stations, and hospitals throughout 32 nations.
Carl Cowling, group chief govt, mentioned the transfer displays the corporate’s shift in focus. “As our travel business has grown, our UK high street business has become a much smaller part of the WH Smith Group,” he mentioned. “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 WH Smith leadership team to focus exclusively on our travel business.”
WH Smith opened its first retailer in Little Grosvenor Avenue, Mayfair in 1792, based by Henry Walton Smith and his spouse Anna. The corporate pioneered journey retail within the UK, opening its first railway station retailer at London Euston in 1848.
Lately, the enterprise has turn out to be more and more reliant on its journey division, which accounted for 75 per cent of group income and 85 per cent of buying and selling revenue within the final monetary yr.
The deal indicators the tip of an period on British excessive streets, the place WH Smith has lengthy been a well-recognized presence in cities and cities throughout the nation. Beneath Modella Capital, the shops are anticipated to retain their core retail providing, however with a brand new identification and operational course beneath the TG Jones model.
