Herbert Smith Freehills and Browne Jacobson have picked up lead roles on the £76m sale of WHSmith’s UK high street business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital.
The deal sees HSF advising WHSmith, fielding a team led by M&A partner Bob Moore, consultant Ben Ward, head of media & digital Hayley Brady, banking partner Will Nevin and tax partner Casey Dalton.
TLT is advising alongside HSF, with a team including head of retail Perran Jervis.
Browne Jacobson is advising Modella Capital on its acquisition, with the firm’s team led by corporate partner Sandra Wong, commercial partner Emma Roake, IP partner Nick Smee and property partner Suki Tonks.
The sale, which includes 480 high street and retail park stores and 5,000 employees, will see the stores rebranding as TGJones, while WHSmith will retain its brand name for airports, railway stations and hospital outlets. Its international travel division operates across 32 countries.
In a statement, WHSmith group chief executive Carl Cowling 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 WH Smith leadership team to focus exclusively on our travel business’.
HSF has a longstanding relationship with WHSmith and previously advised on major transactions including its £166m placing, convertible bond issue, and its $400m acquisition of Marshall Retail Group. Other firms that have advised WHSmith in the past include TLT, which acted on a £400m sustainability-linked loan in June 2023, and Ogier, which advised on a £327m bond offering in 2021.
Modella Capital’s growing retail interest is further underscored by its reported bid for Lakeland this week.
