Struggling Blockbuster to close all UK stores ahead of Christmas

Beleaguered DVD and game rental company Blockbuster will close its remaining United Kingdom stores in the next week, the firm's administrators announced today.

All 91 remaining stores will close by December 16, with all 808 staffers losing their jobs just a week before Christmas. The company's remaining stock will be sold by December 15 at up to a 90 percent discount.

"It is with regret that we have to make today's announcement. We appreciate this is a difficult time for all concerned and would like to thank staff for their professionalism and support over the past month," joint administrators Simon Thomas and Nick O'Reilly told the BBC.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a buyer for the group as a going concern and as a result had to take the regrettable action to close the remaining stores," they added.

The news comes just weeks after Blockbuster parent company Dish Network announced that the 300 remaining United States Blockbuster stores and distribution centers would close by January 2014.

Though Blockbuster stores will close, the Blockbuster brand will live on through expanded digital offerings, management said in November. Dish will retain licensing rights to the Blockbuster brand, which includes key assets like the company's "significant video library."

Dish will continue to deliver the Blockbuster @Home service to subscribers, and the Blockbuster On Demand program will live on indefinitely.