Thorn Electrical Industries Limited was a British electrical engineering company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and also a past constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Thorn is named after the Austrian-born businessman Sir Jules Thorn, who migrated to the UK in 1923 and established the Electric Lamp Service Company, trading in electrical appliances, in 1926. Two years later, the business was incorporated and continued to steadily grow. Following the acquisition of the Atlas Lamp Works company in 1932, the firm started producing light bulbs at a factory in Edmonton. In 1936, Thorn started the domestic distribution of radios on behalf of the Ferguson Radio Corporation, which it ultimately acquired ten years later. It established DER in 1939 to manufacture televisions. Within three years of the Second World War's conclusion, the company had 2,400 employees working across multiple factories, producing lamps, lighting fittings, radios, and televisions amongst other domestic appliances. Further expansion of Thorn took place during the 1950s, striking deals with both the US-based Bendix Aviation Corporation and the transnational conglomerate EMI Group to produce products on their behalf, as well as the acquisition of Philco's British interests. During 1961, Ultra Electronics's consumer electronics interests were integrated with Thorn. Three years later, Thorn merged its lighting interests with those of Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) to form British Lighting Industries. In 1968, Thorn acquired Radio Rentals in exchange for £180 million, and completed a hostile takeover of the domestic appliance specialist Kenwood Manufacturing. That year, the company operated in excess of fifty factories across the UK as well as eight furth plants overseas. The American company General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) also held a large interest in the company around this time. During 1969, Thorn merged with EMI Group to form Thorn EMI, after which it operated under this brand for almost 30 years. Thorn was de-merged in 1996 and regained its individual listing for a brief period before the company was acquired by the Japanese investment company Nomura Group only two years later. After being transferred to the buyout specialists Terra Firma Capital Partners, parts of the company were sold off in 2007.
History
Background The company can trace its origins back to Jules Thorn and the 1920s. Thorn had migrated to the UK from Austria in 1923 and initially worked as a travelling salesman for Olso, an Austrian manufacturer of gas mantles. When Olso became bankrupt in 1926, Thorn decided to stay in England and set up the Electric Lamp Service Company as dealers in electrical and radio goods, including importing Hungarian lamps. On 29 March 1928, The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd was incorporated, taking over the undertakings, property and assets of the Electric Lamp Service Company. In 1928, the Austrian engineer Alfred Deutsch visited Thorn and was persuaded to stay to help organize the company's production process. In 1931, Thorn opened his first shop, renting radios in Twickenham. In August 1932, Thorn personally acquired a controlling interest in Chorlton Metal Co. Limited, dealers of electric lamps and radio goods, based in Manchester. Prior to 1933, the company had focused on the purchase and sale of electric lamps and radio goods. As a result of Thorn's acquisition of the Atlas Lamp Works company in 1932, the firm began to manufacture its own light bulbs in Edmonton, north London by the end of 1933. The company grew rapidly to become one of the world's largest producers of lamps, luminaires and lighting components. In October 1933, Jules Thorn formed Lotus Radio (1933) Limited with Mr L. M. Glancy, a director of Chorlton Metal Co. Limited, acquiring certain assets of the original Lotus Company and to manufacture radio receivers.
Rebranding and going public The company changed its name to Thorn Electrical Industries Limited on 26 November 1936 and became a public limited company on 28 November 1936. Earlier in the year, Chorlton Metal Co. Limited and Lotus Radio (1933) Limited had become wholly owned subsidiaries. and the group had acquired the freehold property known as Atlas Works, which they previously leased. Jules Thorn became chairman of Ferguson Radio Corporation in 1936 and Thorn began distributing their entire domestic radio production. On 9 July 1946, Thorn acquired Ferguson in exchange for £150,000. In 1947, Thorn formed an agreement with Sylvania Electric Products to co-operate on the development and manufacture of fluorescent lamps. During 1939, Thorn established a subsidiary, DER, to pursue the manufacture of televisions. Prior to 1947, it only operated a single outlet, but had expanded to ten branches by 1954 and would reach 397 branches in 1967. By 1948, the company had 2,400 employees and operated factories in Enfield (Ferguson's), Edmonton, Hirwaun and Tottenham; it was also in the process of building another in Merthyr Tydfil. The group was manufacturing Atlas lamps, fluorescent lighting fittings and equipment; Ferguson radio and television receivers; and Mary Ann domestic appliances. At that date, its trading subsidiaries were Ferguson Radio Corporation; Lamp Presscaps (manufacturer of lamp caps); Domestic Electrical Rentals (letting of radio and domestic appliances); and British Electric Domestic Appliances (sale and servicing of radio and domestic appliances) as well as a subsidiary in South Africa. The company bought Tricity Cookers in 1951.
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