WH Smith has announced that it has agreed to sell its UK high street chain to the owner of Hobbycraft, Modella Capital.
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00:00Hello, I'm Michael Crosland, business reporter with the Yorkshire Post, here this morning
00:04with some big news from the high street in that WH Smith has announced that it has agreed
00:10to sell its UK high street chain to Medela Capital, who is the owner of Hobbycraft.
00:16WH Smith has valued its high street chain at £76 million and said that it will eventually
00:22rebrand as TG Jones.
00:25The company has said that the sale does not include its travel locations, which include
00:28airports and train stations.
00:31It's also said that it will keep its stores, which are located in hospitals.
00:36WH Smith will also not be selling the brand, which bears its name.
00:41The deal covers around 480 stores and around 5,000 staff, which work for the business,
00:46who will move under Medela's ownership through the deal.
00:50WH Smith Group Chief Executive Carl Cowling said that the company's high street arm had
00:55become a much smaller part of the business, but said that now was the right time for
01:00a new business to take that forward.
01:02That's all for the time being, I'm Michael Crosland, reporting for the Yorkshire Post.