Administrators confirm intentions to close 164 Blockbuster stores

The Joint Administrators to Blockbuster have today confirmed that as a result of an ongoing review of the portfolio and discussions with landlords and interested parties, they intend to close an additional 164 stores over the coming weeks as part of a phased closure. The remaining stores will continue to trade as usual whilst administrators progress negotiations with bidders.

There will be a number of closing down promotions across the stores to supplement those already on offer across the estate.

Staff in the stores affected by the closures will be facing redundancy. A dedicated employee helpline is in place and the Company is running an Employee Assistance Programme to help those staff facing redundancy find other jobs.

Closing stores will remain open for business as usual and customers will be notified in advance of closure so that they can return their outstanding rental items beforehand. The standard rental terms and conditions remain in place during this time.

Lee Manning, Joint Administrator, said: “We have continued to review the performance of individual stores since our appointment a month ago and have concluded that further closures are necessary in order to restructure the Company for sale. We would like to thank the Company’s employees for their support and professionalism during this difficult time and we are also grateful for the continued support of customers. We are in discussions with a number of parties interested in purchasing all or parts of the business and will update on progress in due course.”

Lee Manning, Matthew David Smith and Neville Kahn, partners at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, were appointed Joint Administrators to Blockbuster Entertainment Limited and Blockbuster GB Limited who trade as Blockbuster, the DVD and video games rental Company on January 16 2013.

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