WHSmith confirms planned sell off of high street stores – Modella Capital, Alteri, Hilco vying to buy?

WHSmith Logo
WHSmith High Street | Image: WHSmith
Image: WHSmith

UPDATE, Thursday 30th January 2025: We are updating this story if reports complement the initial feature. Latest additions appear in italics

The news that British retailer WHSmith is looking to sell or, potentially, close all its remaining high street stores has had a mixed early reaction, but either course will impact comic publishers and buyers across the UK.

A company statement released yesterday strongly emphasised sell-off hopes, as widely reported in the mainstream media, but the wording also suggested closures remained a possibility. With many high street operations shut in recent years in many towns, including Bolton next month, and the decline of such operation revenues evident, WHSmith is clearly looking at all options available to the business. (Time Out has a list of all the stores closing in 2025 here)

WHSmith is still a leading seller of newsstand comics such as 2000AD, BEANO, Quantum and SHIFT, as well as newspapers and magazines in its high street stores, despite instore layout changes in recent years deprioritising their visibility. If they were all to close, this might adversely impact specialty publishers – and result in the loss of some 5000 jobs, and many post office branches.

Sky News broke the news that WHSmith has been in secret talks to sell its entire high street business in Britain, more than 230 years after it opened its first shop in central London.

The broadcaster reported the yesterday that the listed retail group, which has a market capitalisation of almost £1.5bn, has been in negotiations with a number of prospective buyers of the division for several weeks.

WHSmith was expected to confirm plans for its WHSmith High Street operation on the London Stock Exchange on Monday morning, 27th January 2025.

UPDATE, 27th and 30th January 2025: In fact, the company simply re-issued the earlier statement, below. Its share price continued to fall. However, Sky News has followed up its previous exclusive with the news that specialist retail and consumer investment boutique Modella Capital, which bought Hobbycraft last summer, is among a number of parties which have been holding talks with WHSmith and its advisers. The Guardian has reported Hilco Global, the former owner of HMV and Homebase (both of which fell into administration), are also among potential buyers.

The broadcaster reported that Modella is said to be bidding against a number of other experienced retail investors, including the Apollo-backed firm Alteri, a specialist private equity investor focused exclusively on the European retail sector, which owns the Bensons for Beds chain.

WHSmith Share Price - Monday 27th January 2025
WHSmith Share Price – Monday 27th January 2025

The group generates £452m sales from its UK high street stores, around one-quarter of its £1.9bn annual revenue.

UPDATE, Thursday 30th January 2025: WHSmith’s high-street stores saw sales fall 6% in the second half of 2024 as the company gears up for a potential sell-off. The Grocer reported it was the only drag in an otherwise strong set of results that saw total revenue grow 3% in the 21 weeks to 25 January. The falling sales in its British high-street stores were exacerbated by store closures with a like-for-like comparison showing sales down just 3%.

The Guardian reported shares in WHSmith’s eponymous parent company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose by as much as 7% on Wednesday morning, making it the second-biggest riser on the FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies.

Separate to its WHSmith High Street operation, which has already been reduced in recent years, the company operates 580 “Travel UK” stores, plus 320 in the United States and a further 320 in other international locations. These would be unaffected by a sell-off or closures.

WHSmith North America recently launched a retail media network, WHS Media, for the company’s 353 stores in airports, resorts, casinos and rail stations there. The service is the first-ever in-store travel Retail Media Network, connecting brands to consumers across travel hubs in North America.

Smiths News, previously the distribution arm of WHSmith, demerged from WHS in 2006, forming a new logistics and distribution company to deliver newspapers and magazines to newsagents across the UK.

WHSmith confirms sell-off aim

Responding to “press speculation”, WH Smith PLC, which has over 500 high street stores across Britain, many also the location of post office branches, released a short statement.

“WH Smith PLC (“WHSmith”, or the “Group”) notes the recent press speculation regarding its High Street business,” the company stated.

“WHSmith confirms that it is exploring potential strategic options for this profitable and cash generative part of the Group, including a possible sale.

“Over the past decade, WHSmith has become a focused global travel retailer. The Group’s Travel business has over 1200 stores across 32 countries, and three-quarters of the Group’s revenue and 85% of its trading profit comes from the Travel business.”

“There can be no certainty that any agreement will be reached, and further updates will be provided as and when appropriate.”

WHSmith still leading newspaper and magazine retailer, despite instore layout changes

WHSmith bookstall in Victoria Station, Manchester, circa 1932
WHSmith bookstall in Victoria Station, Manchester, circa 1932

WHSmith’s first store was opened in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in Little Grosvenor Street, London. The company opened the first ever travel retail store in Euston station in 1848.

The company’s high street outlets remain major sales points for comics, newspapers and magazines, and are vital for many specialist publishers, despite the growth in online and subscription sales. The continued success of comics such as DC Thomson’s BEANO comic, for example, is in no small part due to a huge growth in subscriber sales, and The Phoenix led the way in British comics with its direct to consumer sales approach.

Publishers such as Time Bomb Comics, which prides itself on its aim to bring comics back to the high street, are among those publishers most likely to be impacted if a buyer cannot be found. DC Thomson’s Commando might also be impacted, as could VIZ.

Small magazine publishers whose only major physical visibility is in WHSmith larger stores, will also have to adapt to what might be a major reduction in outlets for their titles. Doctor Who Magazine, for example, along with INFINITY, Fortean Times and Starburst, to name a few, although, again, online subscriptions are available, either directly from their respective publishers, or through services such as NewsStand.

Most corner shops – once full of magazines – have long since considerably reduced shelving space for publications in favour of off licence and food items, which offer stronger, faster turnover.

In recent years, WHSmith chose to refocus its high street stores on its stationery and greeting card business, one manager visiting the retailer’s Lancaster store recently telling downthetubes the sale of newspapers and magazines – once the core of the chain’s business – were no longer viewed as a priority. Shelving has been reduced and relocated to the back of stores, in some close to newly-introduced Toys R Us branded sections.

Teenage comics, including 2000AD, Commando and Quantum, battling for space on the newsstand last year. Image: John Freeman (2023)
Teenage comics, including 2000AD, Commando and Quantum, battling for space on the newsstand in most WHSmith. Image: John Freeman

The company has, however, until recently, been proud of its high street presence, stating on the WHSmith PLC website, as of 26th January 2025, “On the high street, WHSmith have supported generations of our customers through their own journeys through life, whether it’s their first book, their first day of school, or their first birthday. We’re proud to help people discover new passions – or rediscover old ones – and today, we’re proud to be the hub of the high street.

“With an extensive reach across the UK and a presence on nearly every significant UK high street, our High Street stores sell a wide range of products, focused on the following categories: Stationery (including greetings cards), Books, and News and Impulse (including newspapers, magazines and confectionery), as well as a small range of Entertainment products in some stores. Trading in our High Street stores is seasonal, peaking at Christmas, with other peaks at Easter and in August / September for ‘Back to School’.

Beyond the high street, WHSmith High Street includes several online businesses: Whsmith.co.uk, which sells a range of books, stationery, magazines and gifts, the online personalised greetings card site, Funkypigeon.com, leading online specialist pen retailer, Cultpens.com, and Treeofhearts.co.uk and Dottyaboutpaper.co.uk, which complement the company’s existing stationery ranges.

Troubled times for high street operations

WHSmith High Street | Image: WHSmith
Image: WHSmith
WHSmith full-year trading figures to August 2024 show the strong reliance on the Travel division
WHSmith full-year trading figures to August 2024 show the strong reliance on the Travel division

In its report on the potential closure, BBC News noted revenue from WHSmith High Street operations dropped by £17 million in 2024 compared with the year before, but profits stayed the same after the business closed 14 of its stores last year.

The lower turnover reflects wider changes on the high street, general retailers facing competition from the internet and supermarket competitors, which also sell newspapers and magazines, and give their more selected offer better exposure than most WHSmith high street stores.

Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO and Founder of the consumer retail analyst Savvy Marketing, told the BBC shopping behaviour in the UK had “radically changed”, reducing the reasons to visit stores like WH Smith.

“Most of us read our news online not in magazines and newspapers, we download books and send birthday cards through online operators,” she claimed.

The focus for a business like WHSmith was now, she feels, “in shops in high footfall areas like airports, stations and hospitals.”

WHSmith high street stores have been viewed unfavourably by consumers. Pre COVID, in 2019, a Which? survey found WHSmith ranked the lowest among high street retailers – the ninth year in a row it appeared in the bottom two spots – with shoppers describing the stationery specialist as “cramped and messy”. The company has however made many changes to most stores since, an effort to improve access and decor.

Who Might Buy WHSmith?

WHSmith has been closing high street stores across the UK for several years – a number of branches shut across Scotland and England last year, and 17 have already been earmarked for closure in 2025 – and it seems a buyer may be hard to find, despite the presumed additional carrot of its associated online operations, and the recent rollout of its Toys R Us concessions in some stores.

On Monday 27th January, Sky News reported specialist retail and consumer investment boutique Modella Capital, which bought Hobbycraft last summer, is among a number of parties which have been holding talks with WHSmith and its advisers. They are said to be bidding against a number of other experienced retail investors, including the Apollo-backed firm Alteri, a specialist private equity investor focused exclusively on the European retail sector.

Nicholas Found, senior consultant at the Retail Economics research consultancy, told the BBC potential buyers may see opportunities to “restructure and reimagine WH Smith’s high street presence”, albeit in a “challenging climate”.

Speaking to The Observer on the prospective sale, Kien Tan, a senior retail adviser at PwC said: “The same formula that works in travel stores is no longer sufficient on high streets, where many of its products are available at other retailers or online.

“That doesn’t mean that the high street stores don’t have a future, but they probably will look very different – different products, perhaps incorporating hospitality or other services to give people a reason to visit. That doesn’t mean that WHSmith needs to disappear, but it might have a different brand name above the door to reflect the different customer proposition.”

Bankers at the London offices of Greenhill have been appointed to run the sale process for the high street business, with a deal expected in the coming months.

WHSmith PLC is online at whsmithplc.co.uk

WHSmith Find A Store

WHSmith PLC Locations Worldwide

Smiths News which distributes a huge number of titles to newsagents, is not part of WHSmith; it demerged from WHSmith in 2006. Last November, the company reported revenues of £1,104m for the Financial Year 2024 (+1.1% versus FY 2023) and adjusted operating profit of £39.1m (+£0.3m versus FY 2023. The company works together with many of the country’s leading publishers and distributors, taking their newspapers and magazines on their final-mile journeys into retail stores and on to the shelves. Clients as of January 2025 include distributors such as MarketForce, Seymour and Warners; the Financial Times; Topps; and publishing corporations such as Reach, who own many local newspapers and the Daily Mirror.

Smiths News includes three adjacent businesses that complement the daily delivery of newspapers and magazines, offering publishers and retail customers a wide choice of additional, value adding, services. These are “In Store”, which works with retailers, suppliers and publishers providing field-based merchandising and marketing, supply chain auditing and compliance solutions; DMD, a specialist supplier of printed and digital media to airlines and travel points throughout the UK and worldwide; and Martin Lavell, a leading corporate news distributor, supplying newspapers and magazines to corporate and public sector customers for the past 50 years.

Further Reading…

WHSmith - 1918 | Image: WHSmith
WHSmith – 1918 | Image: WHSmith

WHSmith – London Stock Exchange News Items

Sky News: WHSmith in secret talks to sell historic high street arm

Sky News: Hobbycraft-owner Modella circles WHSmith high street chain

BBC News: WHSmith in talks to sell high street stores

The Observer: WHSmith puts UK high street stores up for sale creating uncertainty for workers
Surprise move frees up parent company of 232-year-old chain to focus on successful travel arm

History Today: The First WH Smith Railway Bookstall
Seeing the potential of the new technology, William Henry Smith opened his first railway bookstall on 1 November 1848

Time Out: Full list of WHSmith stores closing for good in 2025

downthetubes: The British Comic Industry Q&A

Looking for the downthetubes UK Comic Sales Figures, which we documented through published ABC figures since 2006 until February 2024? The spreadsheet is here (We stopped updating this as so few comics now report sales to ABC)

This post was updated on Thursday 30th January 2025 to report 2024 trading results

Thanks to Leigh Smith for the latest links



Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Featured News, Features

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9 replies

  1. Am I correct in thinking WH Smith was also a distributor for magazines and comics to newsagents? I vaguely recall hearing this was the case in the 1990s, at least to London newsagents.

    If so, how might the sale of the stores impact the wider distribution of products?

    As for WH Smith, sad times indeed, especially with them taking over the Post Office concession for so many high streets in the last 15 years.

    • That’s Smiths News, which they already divested.

      • Thanks for the info, James.

      • Indeed: Smiths News demerged from WHSmith in 2006. It works together with many of the country’s leading publishers and distributors, taking their newspapers and magazines on their final-mile journeys into retail stores and on to the shelves. Clients as of January 2025 include distributors such as MarketForce, Seymour and Warners; the Financial Times; Topps; and publishing corporations such as Reach, who own many local newspapers and the Daily Mirror.

        It includes three adjacent businesses that complement the daily delivery of newspapers and magazines, offering publishers and retail customers a wide choice of additional, value adding, services. These are “In Store”, which works with retailers, suppliers and publishers providing field-based merchandising and marketing, supply chain auditing and compliance solutions; DMD, a specialist supplier of printed and digital media to airlines and travel points throughout the UK and worldwide; and Martin Lavell, a leading corporate news distributor, supplying newspapers and magazines to corporate and public sector customers for the past 50 years.

  2. On Facebook, comic creator Kev F. Sutherland commented:

    It is a dreadful situation, but we’ve seen it coming. Every WH Smith we go into is very quiet and nobody seems to be buying much.

    Is there a business model in kiosk sized magazine shops? There seems to be a cluster of potential buyers hovering around that area, looking at specialist mags. Whether they buy, I can’t confirm.

    Ironically there have been more comics in our local WH Smith’s (we visit half a dozen branches regularly) in the last five years than I can remember for decades.

  3. On Facebook, publisher and comic creator Shane Chebsey said:

    As Smiths is the only major chain left it’s looking pretty bleak. (Although the travel outlets look to be very healthy so unlikely to close).

    Supermarkets are probably now going to be the only major outlets remaining and their shelf space is at a premium and very limited. Comics sales will be dropping all round, probably to none viable numbers …the age of the casual reader will be over.
    All publishers will have to find a new business model or die.

    Assuming of course the chain closes and isn’t bought out. Then again, if bought, it’s likely by a supermarket chain.

  4. Comic archivist John Carpenter commented on the Facebook Comic Scene group:

    I reckon this could go either way. A new owner who was serious about the business could look at expanding into high streets that the current management has abandoned in favour of the travel and international businesses. The flipside of this is that a new owner could asset strip whatever is left (which isn’t that much… Many of the stores are tired or too large… Hence stuffing them with any concession they can find) or further change the format to the detriment of news and mags. I don’t know how much of the specialist magazine market WHS now hold but I doubt many publishers of niche titles could afford to loose that big slice of circulation.

    That’s assuming a new owner could keep the chain going at all. Severed from the economies of scale of the overall business, would it still be viable?

    As an aside, WHS are doing a rolling programme of travel shop upgrades and each store has less space allocated to mags after the refit. A policy that mirrors what they are doing on the high street.

  5. The town I live in is now a desert. I can’t buy magazines, comics or DVDs and CDs with out going to another town. I feel shit, like why do I even go in to work. I have a dream – what if local people started community co-op shops in town centres to supply them with these things. People could even use them as meeting places.

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