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UK retailer WHSmith is in talks to sell its high street chain more than two centuries after it opened its first shop in London.
The company, which has been focusing on its outlets in airports, hospitals and train stations in recent years, confirmed on Saturday that it was “exploring potential strategic options”, including an outright sale of about 500 stores.
WHSmith, a high street stalwart known for its stationery and books, is in talks with several prospective buyers and a deal could be reached in the coming months, according to a person familiar with the process.
However, the retailer cautioned “there can be no certainty that any agreement will be reached”.
Over the past decade WHSmith has become an international travel retailer through acquisitions such as a $400mn deal to buy Marshall Retail Group in the US in 2019 and paying £155mn for InMotion, another US retailer of technology products, in 2018.
The move, which was first reported by Sky News, marks a watershed moment in the history of the UK high street.
WHSmith was established in 1792 as a family-run newsagent, and a few decades later it opened the first travel retail store in London’s Euston station in 1848.
Its high street division, albeit profitable and cash generative, has had to adapt to a changing retail landscape characterised by a shift to online shopping and increasing day-to-day business costs.
At the same time, many established chains such as Debenhams and Topshop have disappeared from the high street.
WHSmith’s travel business now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, and it accounts for three-quarters of the group’s revenue and 85 per cent of its trading profit.
