Tributes have been paid this week to the owner of a second-hand bookshop in Finchley who brought people together'.

Martin Gladman, 51, of Linden Road, New Southgate, is believed to have taken his own life on February 25, after his shop, M Gladman Bookseller, in Nether Street, next to West Finchley Tube station, was forced out of business in December 2005.

Oliver Natelson, a close friend of Mr Gladman, said: "I think the closure of the shop had a great bearing on his decision to take his life.

"He complained that all other local second-hand bookshops had closed. He continued trading in the hope that somehow business would pick up, and he did run into debt.

"For him it was people that mattered, much more than money. We are deeply shocked. He brought people together, arranging introductions, or you could sit and philosophise in the armchair in his shop. He will be sadly missed by a great number of people."

The shop had been in business since 1991, before which Mr Gladman had been trading at the History Bookshop, Friern Barnet Road, New Southgate, since the mid-1980s.

Stuart Henley, of the Finchley Business Club, said: "I used to pop into the History Bookshop from time to time. It's such a sad thing that has happened to him. I would have thought there were other factors at work but this may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

"If you think about all the hundreds and thousands of square metres of retail space that is being created, in Friern Barnet Retail Park for example, high street shops are bound to close. There's still the same number of people to buy the goods, so people will spend less money in the high street."

Mr Gladman was cremated at Brunswick Park Crematorium, New Southgate.

Anyone wishing to attend a memorial service or contribute to a condolence book should contact Dr Natelson on 020 8361 2496.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned on February 26.