Fears of ‘postal deserts’ as owner of former WH Smith stores puts counters under threat

Joint signage for TG Jones and Post Office on one of the newly branded outlets. Photograph: Michael Kemp/Alamy

The owner of WH Smith’s former high street business is aiming to change contracts with the Post Office to make it easier to close outlets within its stores, increasing fears that communities will become “postal deserts”.

TG Jones operates 180 post offices and it is understood that as many as 60 could be closed under a restructuring plan by Modella, the private equity group that renamed the WH Smith high street chain as TG Jones after buying it last year.