High street giant WH Smith is reportedly in talks to sell its entire high street business for an estimated £1.5 billion, over 233 years after opening its first store in London. 

According to Sky News, the retailer has been in negotiations with several potential buyers for weeks. An official statement confirming the potential sale could be released to the London Stock Exchange as early as next week. WH Smith currently operates around 500 UK stores, employing approximately 5,000 people nationwide. The identities of the interested buyers remain unknown. This news follows the company’s earlier announcement that around 15 stores would close this year. 

For the year ending August 31, WH Smith reported underlying pre-tax profits of £166 million, up from £143 million the previous year. Profits from its travel-focused stores in railway stations, airports, and hospitals worldwide rose by 15% to £189 million, with UK stores contributing a fifth of this growth. 

Despite a 2% drop in like-for-like sales, earnings remained steady at £32m in its traditional high street business due to cost-saving measures. WH Smith is focusing on expanding its travel shops across North America, with approximately 60 new stores in the pipeline and bids to acquire another 15 in major US airports.

The firm also continues to grow its UK travel chain, having opened 14 sites over the past financial year, with plans to open three to eight more in the coming year. However, it has reduced its UK high street division, closing 14 sites and leaving 500 remaining. The company stated that it has around 470 store leases up for renewal over the next three years, including 100 where active negotiations with landlords are underway. "We only renew a lease where we are confident of delivering economic value over thelife of that lease," the firm said. WH Smith added: "As we grow travel, the high street division will become a smaller part of the overall group."

The first WHSmith store was opened in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in Little Grosvenor Street, London. They opened the first ever travel retail store in Euston station in 1848.