Smiths News PLC was created when we split away from the WHSmith Group on 1 September 2006. Previously WHSmith News, our name reflects our historic legacy as the UK's first news distributor.

Our origins lie in 1792 when Henry William Smith started a newspaper round business. When Henry and his wife died, their two sons Henry Edward Smith and William Henry Smith took over. Later, William assumed control of the business and it became known as W.H. Smith.

William set up the first newspaper distribution warehouse and used a fleet of small carts and fast horses to collect the daily papers and transport them to stagecoach stops.

W.H. Smith could get the papers to readers 12 hours faster than the traditional overnight rail coach. As the railway network grew, and trains became speedier, it was more efficient to load newspapers on to trains at stations near the print centres so that they could be distributed as soon as the train reached its destination. When William realised the potential of providing retail to rail travellers, he set up bookstalls by the stations, which in turn diversified and resulted in widespread retail stores and the formation of the WHSmith Group.