Another iconic name is to disappear from the high street as books and stationary giant, W H Smith is set to be rebranded.

Following its sale of 480 retail shops to Modella Capital, the owner of Hobbycraft, in a deal worth approximately £76m, the brand, which has been trading since 1792, will subsequently vanish from UK high streets soon.

Monmouth’s staple stationery store that for many years traded from the Cancer Research Shop location in Agincourt Square in the 1970s, will be renamed TGJones, while the present owner will keep the WH Smith brand for its travel business operating in railway stations and airports, as well as hospitals.

Currently, WH Smith has about 5,000 employees and operates over 1,100 stores across the UK.

It also owns digital brands such as greetings card business Funky Pigeon it bought in 2010 and online stationery retailer Cult Pens.

Modella Capital said that business would function as normal while changes were made.

Carl Cowling, group CEO of WH Smith, said, “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,” he added.