THE town centres of Wellington and Minehead are to lose one their longstanding high street shop brands with the sale of the WH Smith chain.

The company, which has nearly 500 stores nationwide, is being bought by Modella Capital, which also purchased Hobbycraft last year.

Modella said it would rebrand the high street outlets it is acquiring as TG Jones.

WH Smith is retaining its brand name for use on premises which are not being sold, which include those in airports, railway stations, and hospital sites, and internationally.

Modella said it was going to be ‘business as usual’ for stores such as those in Minehead and Wellington while it introduced changes to them.

It plans to add new product ranges, but will keep any Toys ‘R’ Us and Post Office Counters concessions.

The name ‘TG Jones’ was selected because Modella wants to keep the ‘sense of family’ engendered by WH Smith.

WH Smith said the sale to Modella had been agreed at £76 million ‘on a cash and debt-free basis’.

A company spokesperson said: “While profitable and cash generative, the UK high street business has become an increasingly smaller part of the WH Smith Group.”

“In the financial year ended August 31, 2024, 75 per cent of the group’s revenue and 85 per cent of its trading profit came from its travel business.

“The high street business will operate for a short transitional period under the WH Smith brand while the business rebrands as TG Jones.

“Under this new ownership, the business will be led by Sean Toal, currently chief executive of the high street business.”

Modella said it directly invested its own capital in businesses where it saw ‘turnaround or growth potential’.

A spokesperson said: “Our approach focusses on allowing management teams to lead the way, with our advice and direction always on hand.”