The owner of a popular book shop has provided reassurances that the business is not about to close as she plans to sell.

Jules Button, who has become a familiar face at Woodbridge Emporium, said she was not leaving because the brightly-coloured shop in Thoroughfare was struggling.

On the contrary, she added, the main reason she was selling was because she was trading so successfully she could not devote the time to both the book shop and specialist tea-selling side of the business, which is set to move to Christine’s Patisserie and Tearoom in Thoroughfare.

She said: “Because the shop is doing so well, I can’t do both the book shop and the loose-leaf side. We did a lot of work with front-line workers during the pandemic and we have done a lot of work over the last two years keeping the book shop open.

“Now basically, we don’t have the time to run the two anymore and so we decided to sell the freehold.”

During the lockdown, she revamped her website so she could share songs and book reviews online, along with ‘book hugs’ where she sent books to NHS staff and key workers.

She did not want the new owner to be a buyer looking to take on a business, but somebody who cared passionately about the book shop and its future.

“I am passionate about the book shop and I need somebody who does not want to have just a business. I need somebody who has got a ‘wordsmith’ passion, a passion for books. It has got to be somebody who loves the shop as much as I do,” Ms Button said.

She will continue running the book shop until a new owner is found and described some of the highlights of her five years at the helm.

Being listed as one of the best independent book shops in the UK by The Guardian newspaper was a particular memory, along with being nominated as a Bookshop Hero in 2020.

The shop specialises in science fiction and fantasy books, as well as classics and modern paper backs.