Ref. 29351-14A CHAIN of florists based in Swindon has closed without warning.

Speculation is now mounting that George Davis and Son, which has its head office in Kiln Lane, in Cheney Manor, may have gone out of business.

The company is one of the area's best-known florists, having been established in 1963. It has outlets in Wood Street, in Old Town, Swindon, High Street, in Marlborough, and in Newbury.

The Wood Street shop was shut yesterday and nobody was answering at any branches in Wiltshire or Berkshire.

There were stocktakers at the Cheney Manor headquarters but nobody from the George Davis management.

The number of staff affected is unknown and nobody from the firm was available for comment.

The firm's website at www.georgedavisson.com says: "We are currently re-building our webpages. Please accept our apologies."

It asks customers to ring the firm's free phone number to place an order, but attempts to reach the firm on that number have also got nowhere.

A spokesman for Interflora said George Davis had resigned its Interflora membership a month ago, although it was unable to reveal why.

Dennis Grant, the chief executive of Swindon's chamber of commerce, said he had heard rumours that the company might be closing. He said increasing competition from supermarkets was likely to be to blame.

He said: "Demand for flowers is actually rising and in the last couple of years supermarkets have been expanding the range of flowers they sell.

"And, with the number of supermarkets we have in Swindon, people are more likely to buy them from a supermarket rather than a small retailer.

"They cannot compete with the buying power of the big stores and only way these businesses can survive is if they have a niche in a small community."

The company is owned by Ken Davis, who was unavailable for comment.

Mr Davis set up the first flower shop on a ship during the 1970s on board the QE2 but the shop was closed in September 1986 following a decision by the ship's owner, Cunard.

Anthony Osborne