London and Newcastle Tea Company

Established in 1875, the London and Newcastle Tea Company's offices were in Charlotte Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Early branches were in New Bridge Street, Sandhill, Scotswood Road, Shields Road, Westgate Road and Clayton Street but the firm later expanded to outlying parts of the city. It went out of business between 1959 and 1962.
According to James B. Jefferys, the London and Newcastle Tea Company was one of the first five firms in Britain in the grocery and provisions trade to operate in a multiple branch scale. In 1875, it ran between 10 and 20 branches; in 1880, it was the second biggest grocery chain in Britain, with between 40 and 50 branches, just ahead of Thomas Lipton's rapidly expanding empire.
The firm had a loyalty scheme in operation as early as 1875. The network of groceries, which sold the company's tea, gave a brass check with each purchase. Customers were invited to save the checks until they had acquired enough to claim a prize such as a toy, an item of crockery or a household gadget. The checks are now collectors’ items. By 1928, the shop at 212 Chillingham Road, Heaton, had been acquired by the London and Newcastle Tea Company.