Takings at the tills for WHSmiths, which has seven branches across Gloucestershire, took a hit in the last six months amid an update after news of the 233 year-old retail name being bought up by Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital.

Latest financial updates from the high street chain show how trading profit dipped more than 30% to deliver a figure of £15m in the six months to 28 February – a result that was down 31.8% from £22m the same time last year. Revenue dropped 7%, to £239m.

As reported at the end of March, WHSmith will soon see a rebrand and the familiar signage on the company's county stores – on Eastgate Street in Gloucester, the high streets of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, King Street in Stroud and Cirencester's Castle Street – will take on a new name as "TGJones".

Modella, which acquired the company but not the name in its process, said the new wording retained the same feel as the original title. The private equity venture which is part of R Capital hit the headlines last year in an (unsuccessful) bid to buy the Body Shop, while it also owns The Original Factory Shop chain, alongside Hobbycraft.

Modella paid £76m for 482 stores, including high street addresses as well as such outlets as found on the M5's Michaelwood Services north and southbound, though WHSmith retained its travel business network alongside its online presence through greetings cards brand Funky Pigeon and Cult Pens. Notably, the retailer's travel arm delivered a 12% increase in profit to £56m in the six-month period, with sales rising 6% to £712m.

Under Modella's plans, WHSmith plans more than 90 stores with 60 new openings scheduled for this financial year – most of which will be in North America.

Carl Cowling, WHSmith CEO, said: "The group has had a good first half with consistent like-for-like growth across all our travel businesses, and we are well-positioned for the peak summer trading period.

"Our UK Travel business has had a strong half with trading profit 8% ahead of last year. In North America, we are beginning to see the benefits of our work to re-engineer our space and improve our retail offer, with like-for-like revenue growth of 3% in the period."

He added: "The second half of the financial year has started well, and we remain on track to deliver full year results in line with market expectations. We are mindful of the increased level of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, however given the resilient nature of our business, we are well-positioned to benefit from the growth opportunities in global travel retail."