It was de-merged in 1996 and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but was acquired by the Japanese Nomura Group only two years later.

Deutsch, an Austrian engineer, visited Thorn in 1928 and was persuaded to stay to help organize the company's production process.

[1] Thorn acquired the Atlas Lamp Works company in 1932 and began making light bulbs in Edmonton, north London.

GT&E was later replaced by Ericcson of Sweden who wanted a foothold in the UK equipment market and who eventually bought out Thorn's interest.

The Thorn Group's notable brands over the years included Radio Rentals, DER (both TV rental), Rumbelows (electrical goods), Tricity (cookers and fridges), Kenwood (food mixers), Thorn Kidde (fire protection), TMD[4] (microwave equipment) and Mazda (light bulbs).