HMV administrators keep film and music releases flowing

The fate of HMV rests largely in the hands of Hilco, a specialist investor in distressed retail groups, after it acquired secured debts from Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and other lenders. It acquired HMV's Canadian business in 2011 and is the most likely to emerge as owner of the brand in the UK.

Administrators from Deloitte are closing down branches to reduce HMV's estate from 220 stores to 150 in the next few weeks. They have also shut the HMV website.

Any future incarnation of HMV is almost certain to require the support of a wide base of film and music suppliers. The terms would be negotiated separately from yesterday's deal, which applies to the administration process only. Nick Edwards, of Deloitte, said: "The support of suppliers over the past few weeks has been significant and these agreements demonstrate their ongoing commitment to supporting HMV."

It is thought administrators have received interest from some parties interested in acquiring HMV's small, specialist music chain of up to nine Fopp stores.

This article was written by Simon Bowers, for The Guardian on Friday 15th February 2013 20.17 Europe/London

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