WH Smith in Lymington and Christchurch to be rebranded as TGJones after high street chain sold to Modella Capital

WH Smith branches in the Forest and Christchurch will be rebranded after the firm’s high street chain was sold to the owner of Hobbycraft.

In a deal valued at £76 million, Modella Capital will change the stores to TGJones.

This includes branches in Lymington and Christchurch, but not at Bournemouth Airport in Hurn. It also does not incluide the WH Smith brand.

About 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 travel division, which has become the key focus of the group in recent years and also includes shops in hospitals and railways stations, will not be changing.

That makes up the bulk of its sales and profits, and has grown to more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries.

High street shops have become a “much smaller part” of the group, its boss said.

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 WH Smith 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 WH Smith 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.”

The sale to Modella Capital represents an enterprise value of £76 million on a cash and debt-free basis.

Modella Capital specialises in investing in retailers. It has previously put money into chains including Paperchase and Tie Rack.

In August, it snapped up arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft for an undisclosed sum.

The WH Smith sale follows a period of uncertainty where a number of potential buyers were believed to be in the running to snap up the historic chain.

It is understood that private equity groups Hilco and Alteri were among parties to raise interest over a possible takeover move, after WH Smith launched the process late last year.