WHSmith has reported rising profits across its shops at airports and railway stations as it prepares to sell its high street estate.

Profit across the company’s 579 travel shops rose by 17% to £63 million between September 2024 and February 2025, compared with the same period of the previous year.

Meanwhile, profit at its high street business slumped by a quarter to just £20 million, it said in a trading statement weeks after revealing it is selling the division.

WHSmith announced it would be selling its 482 high street stores to the private equity firm Modella in a £76 million deal. Over 20 stores have already closed this year. 

UK stores being sold off will be rebranded as TGJones by Modella, which is connected to the sales of Ted Baker, Paperchase, Jigsaw, Hobbycraft and Lakeland.

The company hopes to open another 60 stores this financial year, mostly in North America, and reportedly plans to open another 30 in the near future.

Chief executive Carl Cowling said the group is “well-positioned for the peak summer trading period”.

He added: “The group has had a good first half with consistent like-for-like growth across all our travel businesses, and we are well-positioned for the peak summer trading period.

“Our UK Travel business has had a strong half with trading profit 8% ahead of last year. In North America, we are beginning to see the benefits of our work to re-engineer our space and improve our retail offer, with like-for-like revenue growth of 3% in the period.

“The second half of the financial year has started well, and we remain on track to deliver full year results in line with market expectations.

“We are mindful of the increased level of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, however given the resilient nature of our business, we are well-positioned to benefit from the growth opportunities in global travel retail.”