1886 - The company Laing, Wharton and Down formed, to sell products from the American Electric Company. They soon won a contract for electrical lighting for the east end of London.

1892 - Formed from Laing, Wharton and Down in 1892, with the capital held mainly by American Thomson-Houston (part of General Electric of America) and partly by British and French bankers. The company became firmly established when in 1896 its name was changed to The British Thomson-Houston Company Ltd

1892 - General Electric in USA was created by the merger of Thomson-Houston and Edison Electric.

1893 - The American Electric Company became Thomson-Houston.

1894 - British Thomson-Houston was formed.

1896 - May: Laing, Wharton and Down was renamed as BTH. BTH got production licenses for the American Electric Company's products, and soon started setting up factories in the English Midlands. For much of the late 19th century they competed for electrical generation and distribution contracts with British Westinghouse, mirroring the same company's battles in the US between their parents, General Electric (created by the merger of Thomson-Houston and Edison Electric in 1892) and Westinghouse. BTH became mainly associated with Rugby, Warwickshire, due to its good accessibility by rail and a local coal supply.

1899 - BTH chose Rugby.

1900 - BTH bought Glebe Farm (on the west side of Mill Road north of the railway) for £10,000, from Thos. Hunter & Co., to build their factory on it.