Aylesbury shop among first to rebrand with new name and layout after £76m sale

It has been confirmed that the WH Smith’s store in Aylesbury Town centre will become a TGJones shop.

From July 1, the shop will be trading under the TGJ banner and is one of the first stores in the country to operate under that branding.

The changes follow a major retail sale that was announced earlier in 2025 when WH Smith agreed a sale valued at £76m with Modella Capital.

Modella Capital owns the Hobbycraft brand and announced plans to rename the 430 high street stores it acquired earlier this year.

A spokesperson confirmed to The Bucks Herald that the store on Aylesbury High Street will be one of the first to transition over.

The WH Smith’s name relates back to the company’s founder William Henry Smith, and the first store was opened in the 1790s. TGJones is not associated with or a reference to any one individual and has been picked to give the stores a new identity.

A spokesperson said: “Jones carries the same sense of family and reflects these stores being at the heart of everyone’s high street. It’s obviously based on another familiar surname – Smith, Jones.”

WH Smith group chief executive Carl Cowling said in March that the sale represented good business for the company which can now focus on the travel side of its brand. WH Smith has over a thousand stores in airports, train stations, and other travel ports that were not included in the multi-million pound deal.