Workers have been told they will lose their jobs at a longstanding timber merchant as its closure was announced days before Christmas.
Kellaway Group said it decided to close its Gloucester business, Griggs Timber Company, after more than 100 years as it had operated at a loss for the past three financial years.
Julian Milligan, Kellaway Group’s managing director, said the decision was “extremely difficult” and not one taken lightly, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The firm’s main focus was to support its two dozen employees and help them with job applications and securing future employment, Mr Milligan said.
“Following extensive consultation with employees and a thorough review of the company’s financial position, the board has concluded that closure is unavoidable,” he added.
“The business has operated at a loss for the past three consecutive financial years, with the current year representing a further deterioration in performance,” Mr Kellaway said.
Griggs Timber Company was originally founded in Loughborough in the 1870s by Joseph Griggs, the first mayor of the Leicestershire market town.
It opened its Bristol Road Gloucester site in 1917 and has operated out of there ever since.
In 2013, the company was bought by its current owners.