UK retailer HMV enters administration

One of the last main high-street entertainment retailers in the UK, HMV, has confirmed it will be entering administration today.

Gift vouchers will no longer be accepted, reports the BBC, which will likely be upsetting news for many so soon after Christmas. HMV will also stop selling gift vouchers as of today.

We're currently checking with HMV as to whether any preorders placed with the company will still be honoured.

In the short term, all 239 stores will remain open while administrator Deloitte seeks to find a new buyer for the beleaguered chain. The jobs of the company's 4,350 employees are also at risk.

The company, which was founded in 1921, has suspended trading on the London Stock Exchange.

HMV warned in December 2012 that it was suffering and that it might possibly breach a series of loan arrangements with banks. Last week the company announced a month-long 25 percent off sale, but it was not enough to buoy the retailer's fortunes. "The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection," explained HMV in a statement.

In recent weeks, entertainment chain Comet has also exited the high street, and last year GAME entered administration but was saved at the last minute by the OpCapita group, though at a cost of over 250 stores and 40 percent of its staff.