Britain’s shrinking high street faces another jolt as up to 150 former WHSmith stores prepare to shut their doors under the TGJones name.

The stores changed hands last year when Modella Capital bought the high street arm of WHSmith and later rebranded it as TGJones. Now that rebrand has given way to a far tougher reality: reports indicate the new owner plans to close as many as 150 sites, a move that underlines the pressure still bearing down on town-centre retail.

Key Facts

  • Up to 150 former WHSmith high street stores could close.
  • Modella Capital bought the stores last year.
  • The chain was rebranded as TGJones after the deal.
  • The closures affect WHSmith’s former high street business, not the wider brand in other formats.

The scale of the plan points to a stark calculation. A private buyer took over a long-established retail footprint, gave it a fresh identity, and now appears ready to cut deeply into the estate. That sequence suggests the challenge runs deeper than branding. It reflects a market where rising costs, weaker footfall and changing shopping habits continue to punish legacy chains.

A new name has not solved an old high street problem: too many stores chasing too little demand.

The announcement also lands as a wider test for confidence in the high street. Former anchor shops still carry weight in many town centres, drawing regular shoppers for stationery, books, cards and small essentials. When stores disappear at this scale, the impact often spreads beyond one chain, hitting nearby businesses and adding to the sense of decline in already fragile retail districts.

What comes next will matter well beyond TGJones. The company now faces decisions over which locations survive, how quickly closures unfold and what that means for jobs, landlords and local shopping streets. For readers, the bigger signal is clear: even after a sale and a full rebrand, the economics of the traditional high street remain unforgiving.