WH Smith has sold its 233-year-old high street business to investment firm Modella Capital the owner of Hobbycraft in a £76m deal which will include its store in Monmouth, Abergavenny and Ross-on-Wye.

The company will eventually rebrand as TGjones, however the sale does not include the retailers travel locations like shops in airports and train stations, neither the WH Smith brand, which will continue to be clear at travel locations and hospitals.

The sale only affects the storefront locations and doesn’t include travel retail businesses which operate in airports and train stations.

The deal covers an estimate of 480 high street stores and there will be around 5,000 employees transferred to Modella Capital ownership.

The future of the WH Smith brand does remain assured as it’s not included in the sale.

Carl Cowling, group Chief executive said: “As we continue to deliver on our strategic ambition to become the leading global travel retailer, this is a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on travel.”

“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. I wish the high street team every success.”

WH Smith was founded in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna as a small vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London. Then many years later they opened the first ever travel retail store in London Euston station in 1848 overall the company have been in 230 years of business.