Cheltenham Florist Becomes Latest Victim Of The Recession

Tue, 01 Sep 2009

An award-winning Gloucestershire florist has been forced to stop trading after nearly half a century due to financial difficulties caused by the economic recession.

The weekend closure of Cheltenham -based Robert Young, which has been run by the Artus family since 1964, has resulted in the loss of 27 part and full-time jobs .

Colin Artus, who ran the florists on Bath Road alongside brother John and his sisters-in-law Sue and Jane, described the shop closure as "the end of an era".

"The last thing we wanted to do was close, and we would have avoided it if banks had stopped saying no or if the recession had never happened," he said.

"We tried our best to carry on, but in the end there was nothing we could do. It has been a real struggle to get through this last day."

He added: "I haven't even thought about the future yet. I just need to get through this, then I can turn my attention to what lies ahead."

Commenting on the move, Matthew Birch, chairman of the Bath Road Traders' Association, said: "It has become a real landmark in Bath Road and a pillar of the community, especially because it also sold milk, vegetables and other goods."

"From a trader's point of view, I worry where the elderly and everyone else who depended on the shop to get their necessities will go now.

"It's also awful for the staff. I've got them all to give me copies of their CVs and I would ask anybody who has a job needing to be filled, to get in touch.

"I'd like to do anything I can to help, and if I can help them to get back into a job then that would be a start."
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