A charity has announced plans to move its charity shop to a more “high profile” location in Inverness.
The Highland Hospice will be leaving their existing spot on Queens Gate to take up the lease of the former Laura Ashley shop in the Eastgate Shopping Centre.
The charity is aiming to create flagship premises for themselves in the city’s Falcon Square.
Laura Ashley closed down in the summer after the business went into administration.
They were located in the historic C-listed building in Falcon Square, which is a prominent place with a lot of footfall.
Highland Hospice has now taken over the lease and will be looking to refit the shop in a “unique and distinctive” fashion to make it their flagship store.
The team is also looking at employing a full-time shop manager to run the “exciting new retail development,” with the aim to be open in February next year
Andrew Leaver, head of fundraising and development for the charity, said: “We’ve been looking to expand our retail arm for a while now and have been looking for different premises in the north.
“Our current shop in Inverness is too small for us and is across two levels which is giving us some problems.
“Falcon Square is a prominent location in the city and the building is in excellent condition and with lots of potential.
“There is more footfall there and gives us more space to offer a unique retail offering.”
The hospice charity has a total of 13 shops including Thurso, Wick, Aviemore, Grantown, Fort William, Portree, Nairn and Forres.
Their relocation will be a boost to Inverness’s Eastgate Shopping Centre, which recently lost Oasis and Warehouse due to both businesses going into administration.
Mr Leaver added: “We are also hiring for a store manager who will be given the freedom to spearhead our exciting new store.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for someone to help us expand our new operations.”