An Inverness city centre building which was destroyed in a huge fire will not be repaired this year, its owners have confirmed.
The M&Co premises on Academy Street was completely gutted by the blaze in April.
The building – one of the oldest in Inverness – has been issued with a dangerous building notice by Highland Council and scaffolding erected to make it safe.
However the retail company say that reopening the building by Christmas is “unachievable” because of the extensive damage to the building.
The fire affected the ground floor clothing store and a separate beauty salon on the floor above.
A joint investigation by the police and fire service concluded that the fire was not caused deliberately or with “criminal intent”.
Traffic access to Academy Street has been restricted ever since the fire, with the road currently reduced to one lane because of the encroaching scaffolding.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol said he was “disappointed” that the store would remain closed, having been told that M&Co had hoped to open in time for Christmas.
He added: “I’m not surprised that they are looking for alternative premises because they have already had several months of lost trade.”
He added: “I’m not an expert at all but I understand that the scaffolding could be pulled back to the edge of the pavement to allow a bit more traffic through and reduce the footprint of the site.
“I think that would make a fairly significant difference if its possible.”
A spokeswoman for M&Co said: “M&Co are working closely with our project manager and architects and we would like to get back to business as usual, as soon as possible to minimise disruption to Academy Street and the city.
“However with the task in hand, realistically a reopening before Christmas is sadly unlikely to be achievable.
“M&Co are progressing discussions regarding a temporary location in Inverness for our local shoppers.
“But in the meantime customers can continue to shop at our nearest stores in Dingwall and Nairn and online.”
The M&Co spokeswoman said that the company was “very conscious” of the scaffolding and is working with city manager David Haas and the Academy Street Action Group to reduce it.