Threshers owners in talks over future (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Threshers owners in talks over future

11:44am Thursday 5th November 2009

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THE future for Threshers off licence in Lyme Regis remains uncertain this week after its parent company went into administration.

Pat and Julie Hicks, who hold the franchise on the Broad Street store, were in emergency meetings this week to determine the impact the move would have.

Joint directors Mr and Mrs Hicks said they were not yet in a position to comment and they did not know how they would be affected.

Joint administrators Richard Fleming, Mick McLoughlin and Ian Corfield were appointed last week to oversee First Quench Retailing Limited, which operates under a variety of high street names including Threshers, Victoria Wine and Bottoms Up.

Yesterday they were still in the process of stabilising the business while a marketing campaign for its sale, along with the assets, was being undertaken. It is hoped that a sale can be achieved within a short timeframe, they stressed. They said they were marketing the company’s franchise business as part of the business and assets for sale.

They added: “Franchisees will shortly receive a letter clarifying the administrators’ position in relation to the franchisee business. The administrators intend to trade normally as far as possible.

“We will be in contact with all affected parties shortly, but in the meantime we appreciate their patience and support while we focus our efforts on the survival of the business.”

The company has 1,300 off-licence stores with 88 of them run as franchises.

The news will come as another major blow for Mr and Mrs Hicks, who have already had to contend with the arrival of Tesco just two doors away.

And when the News revealed last month that the owners of Lyme Regis Post Office were considering opening a combined post office and Spar store, Mr Hicks admitted it could be ‘the final nail in the coffin’.

The future is also uncertain for the Threshers in Bridport, which also runs as a franchise.

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