Company says it is exploring strategic options but there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached
UK retailer WHSmith is in talks to sell its high street chain more than two centuries after it opened its first shop in London. The company, which has been focusing on its outlets in airports, hospitals and train stations in recent years, confirmed on Saturday that it was “exploring potential strategic options”, including an outright sale of about 500 stores.
Over the past decade WHSmith has become an international travel retailer through acquisitions such as a $400mn deal to buy Marshall Retail Group in the US in 2019 and paying £155mn for InMotion, another US retailer of technology products, in 2018. The move, which was first reported by Sky News, marks a watershed moment in the history of the UK high street.
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