WH Smith is to disappear from Dorset high streets after the firm sold its shops for £76 million.

Hobbycraft owner, Modella Capital, has purchased 480 stores in retail parks, shopping centres and on high streets and said it would rebrand them as TGJones shops.

WH Smith has Dorset stores in Swanage, Poole, Christchurch, Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Dorchester, Wimborne, Bridport and Blandford, with around 5,000 staff across the country are set to be affected by the sale.

However, the deal does not include the WH Smith brand, its travel shops at airports and railway stations, or stores in hospitals.

WH Smith group chief executive, Carl Cowling, said: “High Street is a good business; it is profitable and cash generative with an experienced and high-performing management team.

“However, given our rapid international growth, now is the right time for a new owner to take the High Street business forward.”

While confirming plans to rebrand the shops, Modella said it would keep Post Office outlets and Toys R Us concessions in place.

The firm added it would be “business as usual” during the sale process, but would not comment on whether jobs would be cut in the coming weeks and months.

Modella Capital, a private equity firm, owns Hobbycraft, as well as stakes in Crafters’ Companion and The Original Factory Shop.