Less than one-third of drink chain Threshers' 1,400 stores have managed to reopen as off-licences a year after the firm went bust.

Administrators KPMG returned 1,000 of the First Quench stores to landlords as only 400 were sold owing to the shrinking interest in the off-licence sector which has taken a beating from supermarkets.

Richard Fleming, the UK head of restructuring at KPMG, admitted that the standalone off-licence trade model was in decline. The stores were now being operated only by individuals or regional businesses.

First Quench Retailing (FQR), which owned the Threshers, Wine Rack, Victoria Wine, Bottoms Up and Haddows fascia, went bust last year and 6,300 jobs were lost.

FQR still owes huge amounts of money to unsecured creditors. Diageo lost a total of £41m when it collapsed.

SEP Properties, based in West Midlands, bought the Threshers, Bottoms Up, The Local and Victoria Wine brands. Some of the Wine Rack stores are still trading on high streets in the South East.