WH Smith considers sale of high street business including more than 500 stores

The WH Smith chain has been a presence on high streets in the UK for decades. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA

One of the world’s oldest retailers, WH Smith, has confirmed it is in talks to sell its city- and town-centre stores, which it has described as the “hub of the high street”.

First established in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife, Anna, it expanded to become one of the UK’s best-known retail chains. Company bosses said this weekend they were exploring “potential strategic options”, including a possible sale.