A HAIRDRESSERS which has been trading in Malvern for almost 100 years is set to close after the owner decided to retire.

Burley’s, in Worcester Road, has been with the same family for just under 100 years. Owner David Burley is to retire, having decided to try and sell the shop back in 2011, and Burley's is expected to close down at the end of September as a result.

This follows the announcement of the closure of Brays department store early next year, meaning Malvern will lose two of its most historic and long-established businesses.

Burley's, which is located at the former boarding house for the Malvern Water Cure, was taken on by David's grandfather, Harry, in 1920, then passed to his father, Dennis, and subsequently him.

Some of the rooms, spread over a couple of floors, still come complete with period fixtures and fittings such as 1920s mirrors and 1960s Formica work surfaces, making a visit feel like stepping back in time.

David began learning his trade in those rooms in the 1960s before finishing his training at college in London.

In 2011, he said he would ideally like Burley's to be taken on as a going concern or for a museum to take on some of its many interesting items and features.

This week he told the Malvern Gazette that a museum of hairdressing based in Leicester had agreed to take many of the shop’s fixtures and fittings, including the entire contents of the upstairs salon, and the distinctive pink neon sign hanging on the front of the premises

He said: “I’m sorry to be closing the business, but I will be 72 soon and I just felt it was time to retire. We’ve got a motor home, so my wife and I will be going travelling, and I also want to build a model railway in my garden, so I’ll have plenty to keep me occupied in by retirement.”

He said the building is up for sale, and he has a prospective buyer.