The WH Smith shops in Totnes and Kingsbridge are set to close following the sale of the High Street chain to Modella Capital for £76m.

The shops are set to be re-branded as TG Jones but the WH Smith Group is holding on to its branches in places such as train stations, airports and hospitals.

It’s not yet known if any jobs are at risk.

WH Smith began in 1792 and was founded by Henry Walton Smith as a news vendor in London.

Following Henry’s death it was taken over by his son William Henry Smith and the name became WH Smith and Son.

More recently the company massively expanded in the 1970s and in 2010 bought the Guernsey-based online card retailer Funky Pigeon