How new owner became all powerful in ‘high stakes’ attempt to revive former WH Smith chain

Low-profile Modella has positioned itself as a key creditor, landlord and brand owner to struggling TG Jones as store closures and job cuts loom

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hoppers at WH Smith were once accustomed to being offered cheap chocolate stacked high at the counter while buying their morning newspaper. Now, the chain’s former high street stores have themselves become the subject of a cut-price deal – as the low-profile investment group that snapped them up appears set to pay less than half of the original cash price.

The paperclips to books chain had notched up 233 years on the British high street when it was bought by Modella Capital last summer.

In less than a year, the future looks very different for the chain, which was hastily rebranded to TG Jones. First established in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife, Anna, WH Smith grew rapidly in the 19th century, building a newspaper distribution business as the railway network expanded.