WH Smith focus back on store recovery
Sale of publishing arm on track
WH Smith is putting the focus back on restoring sales at its UK high street stores.
Following the formal withdrawal of Permira, the private equity firm which announced a potential bid in April, the revamp of the business under chief executive Kate Swann is back at the forefront of investor interest..
The company said its plans for the sale or demerger of the Hodder Headline publishing business are continuing “following the receipt of a number of expressions of interest”.
Swann said: “We can now focus fully on our turnaround plans for the UK Retail High Street business and deliver value for our shareholders.”
Meanwhile, [i]The Times [/i]reports that WH Smith has outsourced the buying and distribution of CDs and DVDs to Entertainment UK, the successful wholesale division of Woolworths. Entertainment UK, which also handles buying and distribution for Tesco, will take over responsibility next month.
