WHSmith

WH Smith plc, <a href="/facts/Trading_as/0tbWP1Sn">trading as</a> WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British travel retailer, with headquarters in <a href="/facts/Swindon/lxued87p">Swindon</a>, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery. 
The company was formed by <a href="/facts/Henry_Walton_Smith/ePARTNnT">Henry Walton Smith</a> and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, the company began to focus on its core retail business. In the 1960s, it was responsible for the creation of the <a href="/facts/ISBN/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> book identifier.
The company sold its high street and online businesses to <a href="/facts/Modella_Capital/hTFVukGt">Modella Capital</a> on 30 June 2025 to focus on its travel business. Modella rebranded the chain as <a href="/facts/TGJones/tsbMlPgA">TGJones</a>.
WHSmith is listed on the <a href="/facts/London_Stock_Exchange/V2AbyhM5">London Stock Exchange</a> and is a constituent of the <a href="/facts/FTSE_250_Index/ynGRn0oj">FTSE 250 Index</a>.

WHSmith open-in-new

WHSmith