Off-licence chain Threshers sold

Supermarkets stocking better wine has hit Threshers

UK off-licence chain Threshers has been sold to an investment consortium led by Edmund Truell, for an undisclosed sum.

The chain was sold by Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy Hands, with reports suggesting it had made a "slight profit" on the deal.

Mr Hands bought the Thresher Group, which has about 2,000 outlets in the UK, for £225m almost seven years ago from pub groups Whitbread and Punch.

However, the business has been facing tough competition from supermarkets.

Terra Firma introduced a convenience store format into some of the shops to try and revive the brand.

But the sector has continued to be affected by supermarkets stocking a wider range of wines and also by "booze cruise" trips to France.

The Thresher Group owns Threshers, The Local, Wine Rack and Haddows in Scotland.

It employs more than 2,000 people across Britain and says that more than half the UK's population live within 10 minutes walk of one of its stores.

Mr Truell was the founder of the Duke Street Capital private equity firm.