HMV, the music chain that recently collapsed into administration, has been purchased by Hilco, the restructuring firm that already owns HMV Canada. Previously, HMV had 223 stores across the UK, employing 4,123 staff, before crumbling in January under debts of £176m.
The £50m deal will preserve 141 high street stores, 25 of which were marked for closure, and nine Fopp outlets (HMV’s cut-price subsidiary), as well as securing 2,500 jobs. Hilco CEO Paul McGowan, buoyed by the company’s success in the Canadian market, says: "The structural differences in the markets and the higher level of competition in the UK will prove additional challenges for the UK business but we believe it has a successful future ahead of it."
Existing HMV and new Hilco executives will run the chain, led by former Steinhoff Group chief executive Ian Topping, who has clear plans for the stores: "We intend to reverse the earlier decisions to sell tablets and other devices in the stores and to reclaim the space for an enhanced music and visual range."
