Dozens of former WH Smith stores are likely to close, putting thousands of jobs at risk under a radical restructuring plan by their new owner, which had rebranded the shops to TG Jones,

The investment company Modella Capital, which bought WH Smith’s chain of 480 high street stores for £76m last year , blamed “weak consumer spending” as it set out the plan to landlords on Wednesday.

Eight of the chain’s remaining 450 stores will close immediately, while Modella is demanding 100% rent holidays on about 100 more, as first reported by The Telegraph.

The company also wants 5% rent reductions on hundreds more stores for a year, with cuts of between 15% and 75% beyond that period, according to a document seen by the Guardian.…