Up to 150 former WH Smith stores face closure, putting thousands of jobs at risk

Under the plan, eight of the TG Jones chain’s 450 stores will close immediately, while Modella is demanding 100% rent holidays on a further 100. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

Up to 150 former WH Smith stores are likely to close, putting thousands of jobs at risk under a radical restructuring plan by their new owner, which had rebranded the shops as TG Jones.

The investment company Modella Capital, which bought WH Smith’s chain of 480 high street stores for £76m last year, blamed “weak consumer spending” as it set out the plan to landlords on Wednesday.