A town centre furniture store is set to close after a rent increase made trading “no longer financially viable”.

Owners at Price Less Furniture in Dover have announced they will be shutting their doors on July 31.

Steven and Sylvia Trimmings have been trading in the town since 2007 and the store in Biggin Street has been their base since 2012.

However, Mr Trimmings says they were not willing to pay the rent increase asked for by the landlord after their lease expired.

“Despite our negotiations with the landlord, the new rent demands were too high. We are not prepared to pay the amount he is asking for,” he says.

“It does not financially make sense for us to stay open.”

However, the husband and wife also have a branch in East Street, Faversham, which they confirm will continue trading.

Mr Trimmings added: “We have been at our store in Faversham since 2010 and this will remain open.”

Price Less is the latest trader to close its doors in the port town as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.

The Lava Longe cocktail bar, a once popular night spot, closed earlier this year, with bosses saying people “do not seem to be interested in going out anymore”.

Meanwhile, De Bradelei Wharf, a shopping centre which has served the town for 20 years, is expected to close on July 14, with 32 people set to lose their jobs.