WHSmith 'on track' to sell ALL 480 stores this month as it disappears from the high street

The deal, which was agreed in March, will see the WHSmith name disappear from British high streets.

All 480 high street stores will rebrand as TG Jones, with planning applications already being submitted to councils across the country for new signage.

The company reported its travel division performed strongly in the quarter to 31 May, with like-for-like sales rising five per cent.

This comes as WHSmith prepares to become a pure travel retailer, focusing exclusively on its shops in airports, railway stations, hospitals and motorway service areas.

The sale encompasses all approximately 480 stores and 5,000 staff members, who will transfer to Modella Capital's ownership when the transaction completes.

The WHSmith brand has been a fixture of British retail since Henry Walton Smith established the business over 200 years ago. Its disappearance from high streets represents a significant shift in the retail landscape.

Unlike WHSmith, the new TG Jones brand is not named after any particular individual. Planning applications submitted to councils, including one for the Driffield store in East Yorkshire, show the new signage will maintain similar blue and white colouring to the existing WHSmith branding.

The WHSmith name will continue to exist solely in travel locations, which were not included in the sale to Modella Capital.

The retailer's travel division delivered a seven per cent jump in total sales during the 13-week period, with UK operations seeing particularly strong growth. Airport stores surged seven per cent, rail locations rose six per cent and hospital sites increased three per cent.

WHSmith opened 10 new airport stores in North America during the quarter, including locations in Calgary, Denver, Detroit and Washington.

The company also refitted seven stores at Edinburgh airport, introducing its one-stop-shop format and first Smith's Family Kitchen coffee proposition in an airport setting.

The travel business now operates more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries.

It currently accounts for approximately 75 per cent of the group's revenue and 85 per cent of its trading profit, according to the company.

Group chief executive Carl Cowling described the sale as "a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on travel".

He said: "As our travel business has grown, our UK high street business has become a much smaller part of the WHSmith 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."

The company said it was "well positioned" entering the peak summer trading period as a pure play travel retailer.