Wren Computers Advert - December 1984

Billed as a portable, but really just a luggable along the lines of the much earlier IMSAI PCS-80/30 from 1978 or the more contemporary KayPro, the Wren was built by Thorn/EMI, a company which was big in the software game at the time.

It was made under contract from Wren Computers Ltd, a joint venture between Transam Microsystems - makers of the Triton and the Tuscan - and Prism, best known for its modems but which also distributed computers for, amongst others, Sinclair.

The Wren was a Z80 machine with 64K RAM and came with a built-in modem with access to the big on-line systems of the day, in particular Micronet 800 and Prestel. It retailed for £1,150 - about £4,670 in 2024 money.

Personal Computer World said of it that "under normal circumstances, a portable computer with all the bits including a modem and bundled software for £1,000 would appear to be good value. However, in the light of Sir Clive's latest offering [the QL] it looks rather puny"^[1] .

Prism Microproducts had suffered the theft of around 3,000 Spectrums from its warehouse in July 1983^[2].

Sadly, Prism wouldn't be able to have that many machines stolen again as the company went bust in 1985, with only 1,000 Wrens having been made.

As Prism was the majority shareholder in the joint venture, Wren was also wound up. It was somewhat ironic as the Wren venture was said to have been Prism's insurance policy in case it lost the Sinclair distribution contract, which it did in early 1985 - leaving it with a large amount of unsold stock.

An Opus advert for the Wren Executive - possibly built from left-over parts, and notable for the fact it's now less than half the price at £495 + VAT, or about £2,080 in 2024. From Personal Computer World, May 1986

Although only 1,000 Wrens were thought to have been made, there were unassembled parts for another 9,000 machines^[3].

It's possible that Opus Supplies Limited - a company which started out as an office furniture and supplies distributor, and which would later become relatively successfull as an IBM PC-clone maker - bought these up and assembled them for sale, as it started advertising the Wren Executive again during the spring and summer of 1986.