AN upmarket hairdressing outlet in Bolton town centre has closed with the loss of 12 jobs.

Toni and Guy shut up shop for the last time on New Year's Eve after 15 years in Deansgate.

The outlet was one of more than 300 of the Toni and Guy franchises across the UK.

Boss Andy Jones, who has been in charge for the last four years, said: “We have not been making any money.

“We’ve not managed to get turnover where it needs to be to sustain the business.

“The Toni and Guy company has supported us as much as they can, but December has been a particularly bad month – considering it was December — and September and November were horrendous.”

Mr Jones said the decision to close the shop was made in early December.

“We decided to we needed to tell all the staff as soon as we could,” he said. “It wasn’t pleasant. December 20 was the worst day of my professional life.

“I don’t view them as staff — more like a family. At the end of the day, you can’t keep going if it’s not happening.”

Mr Jones, aged 49, cited the drop in footfall in the town centre since 2008 as a major reason for the shop’s demise.

“The biggest problem we have had here is the rent and the rates,” he said. “We’re tied in to a lease until 2018 and the rent is astronomical.

“Footfall has gone through floor.”

Mr Jones said he was hoping to hang on until the Market Place refurbishment had taken place and maybe relocate in there, but it had not been possible.

“The council has done what it can by making car parking free at the weekends, but really it needed to be free parking all week to save us,” he said.

“Out of town shopping centres have free parking. People have got to have a reason to come into town centres other than to get their hair done.

“I don’t think we could’ve done any more as an organisation to save the shop.”

Mr Jones also said Toni and Guy had had many highs since it opened in 1999.

“We were finalists in the Toni and Guy franchise of the year awards in 2004 and we’ve trained up a lot of hairdressers and apprentices who have gone on to set up their own shops,” he said.

“We’ve worked with Bolton Lads and Girls Club and done a lot of work with Debenhams. We were the first Toni and Guy outlet to set up inside of Debenhams and at the Mercure George’s House Hotel at Blackrod.

“We’ve achieved a lot creatively and reached the finals of the Toni and Guy assistant (for apprentices) competition in July and, in a national survey of all the group’s outlets in 2013, we came top in the North West.

“I want to thank the people of Bolton who have supported us and made us successful creatively.”

Meanwhile, Bolton Council’s director of development and regeneration, Keith Davies, voiced his disappointment over the closure.

“Town centre businesses have struggled the through the economic climate over recent years and the council has been doing everything it could to support the retail sector there,” he said.

“The feedback we have been getting generally is that there is an element of recovery, so to hear about this is very disappointing. I know it’s a very competitive market with a number of similar establishments in that area.”