It’s the end of the line for an Andover wholesaler as the last cage was shipped out before it closes for good. As previously reported, Booker Retail Partners, located on the Walworth Industrial Estate, is closing its Andover distribution centre and consolidating its operations in Didcot after deciding its site in town was too small for its needs. One of the employees of the firm described it as “the end of an era” as the last cage was loaded onto a lorry. Booker was founded in the 1800s as a shipping firm by George and Richard Booker, and gives its name to the literary award the Booker Prize. It owns retailers Budgens and Londis, and in 2018 merged with Tesco in a deal worth billions of pounds.