A century-old tailoring tradition has come to an end after an iconic menswear store shut up shop in Chorlton.

HT Burt’s, on Wilbraham Road, is being sold and will become a family-run hair salon.

The move means the company will no longer have a presence in Chorlton – although its second shop in Poynton will remain open.

The firm grew from humble beginnings in south Manchester in 1895, when Harry Trevethan Burt started selling shirts made in the back of his wife’s stationary store.

That shop – which was also based on Wilbraham Road – is now the trendy Electrik bar.

Harry was successful enough to open his own shop across the road by the turn of the 20th century and it has been a fixture in Chorlton ever since. Now Harry’s great-grandson – Adrian Burt, 50 – has found a buyer after deciding it was time to sell up.

He blamed ‘tough trading conditions’ and a robbery last December, when masked men stole hundreds of pounds worth of clothes.

Adrian said: "It is sad to be moving out.

"But my father said to me when he passed the business on that if you don’t want to do it any more, then don’t."

He added: "We have a very loyal customer base and they are still travelling from afar to come to our shop in Poynton, I am pleased to say."

The shop hit television screens back in 2008, when retail guru Mary Portas spruced up the firm’s staid image by introducing a host of new designer brands such as Hugo Boss and Ted Baker.

Over the years, HT Burt has opened and closed shops in Hale, Bramhall and Urmston but the Chorlton shop has been ever present – until now.

The new hair salon is likely to open in the next two weeks, the Reporter understands.

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