IT’S been a part of Basingstoke town centre for almost a quarter of a century, but Saturday marks the end of an era as a family-run business shuts up shop.

Foleys Furniture, in Feathers Lane, run by Ron and Sheila Foley and their granddaughter Denise Purton, has succumbed to the tough economic climate.

“We’re not the first to close and we won’t be the last,” said Miss Purton, who has noticed outgoings for the business have increased over recent years. “That’s what has killed the business more than anything else,” added the 35-year-old upholsterer.

She feels let down by current and previous Government policies that have hit small businesses like Foleys, particu-larly when VAT increased to 20 per cent. The situation has been made worse with the stagnant housing market which has severely affected trade at the business which provides second-hand, new and custom-made furniture.

It is certainly a sad time for Mr and Mrs Foley, who set up the business around 25 years ago working from the now closed Longleys furniture shop, in Church Street.

Twelve years ago they moved the business to their own 2,000 sq ft premises in Feathers Lane, just off Wote Street.

Mr Foley, 74, who was originally trained as a highly-skilled Rolls Royce panel beater was able to turn his expert hands to renovating furniture. Over the years he has given a new lease of life to many pieces of furniture.

Mr Foley said: “Where a piece of furniture say had been left in a garden and would appear to be beyond repair, Denise would say ‘granddad what are you doing with that?’ And I’d say, ‘leave it to me.’ And then it would come out as a wonderful piece of furniture, which we’ve been able to sell.”

Despite the closure of the business, Mr Foley is not ready to put away his tools and skills for good.

He said: “I shall probably work from home, doing small repairs. There are always people with broken chairs and table tops that are damaged.”

With the shop’s remaining stock being sold at knock-down prices, Mr Foley said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the customers we’ve had over the past 25 years. We’ve had some incredible characters and quite a few of them are good friends now.

“Saturday is our last day and we hope to have sold everything by then and have a nice empty shop, where everyone can just come in and say goodbye.”