Threshers Limited , off-licence chain

Between 1897 and 1898, Samuel Benett Burt Thresher, founded Thresher and Company, a firm of wine merchants with eight shops (four in Fulham, one each in Lewisham, Ladywell, Streatham and Putney). In 1917 Thresher's became registered as a limited company. S B B Thresher retired in 1938. He was succeeded by Sydney Follett as managing director and H A Bonner as chairman.

The firm was bought by Flowers Breweries of Luton, Bedfordshire in 1957, and in turn part of the Whitbread empire in 1962 when Flowers Breweries was acquired by Whitbread and Company Limited. Flowers Breweries had begun as Flower and Sons in 1831 based at Brewery Street in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1954 it merged with J W Green Limited of Luton who owned the Phoenix Brewery located on Park West Street. One condition of the merger was that the Flowers name be retained and so the new company became known as Flowers Breweries. After becoming part of Whitbread, brewing continued at the Luton site until the late 1960s before production was moved to Whitbread's Cheltenham site on Monson Avenue. Production of the Flowers brands was later transfered to the Boddingtons plant before coming under Interbrew when Whitbread's assets were sold in 2000.

The Thresher's shops were amalgamated in 1965 with wine shops of F S Stowell Limited, the managed off-licence group acquired by Whitbread in 1920. Combined head offices were established at Britten Street, Chelsea. Thresher's became part of Whitbread's growing wine and spirits business becoming its main off-license chain with over 1,600 off-licence stores. In 1998 the firm became owned by Allied Domecq, before being bought by Nomura Principal Finance in 2003. The firm fell into administration with Wine Cellar and First Quench Retailing in 2009.

Head office: 4 Thames House, Queen Street Place, City of London (until 1938); Burlington Lodge, Rigault Road, Fulham (from 1938); Britten Street, Chelsea (after 1965-1977); Great North Road, Hatfield, Hertfordshire (1977-1982); Sefton House, Church Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (1982-).