A Winchester business is leaving its store behind and branching out on the Internet.

Furnishings business People Like Us is vacating its shop in Parchment Street in July to go online offering home visits to customers.

Owners Gillie and Bob Boddy said they wanted to adopt a more flexible lifestyle while continuing to provide quality products like curtains, blinds and fabrics over the computer.

Gillie said: “Bob and I are excited about this next phase for our business. We will be sad to leave Parchment Street, but we have built up strong relationships with businesses and residents in the local area and we will continue to go the extra mile for our customers and provide the personal service on which we have built our business.”

Chris Turner, executive director of Winchester Business Improvement District, said: “Gillie has been a key driving force to the success of Parchment Street. Her help over the past three years with the Parchment Street party has been greatly appreciated by all.”

Although People Like Us is the second business to leave Parchment Street this year, Prof Turner said he was not worried about the future.

He said: “This is an exciting time for Parchment Street; we are seeing a lot of movement with new businesses setting up and a real change in the type of business Parchment Street has to offer.”