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HMV will survive on the high street, says Fox

James Thompson
Friday 18 March 2011 01:00 GMT
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Simon Fox, chief executive of HMV, has vowed that the troubled entertainment group will survive and still have hundreds of shops in five years' time. The group, which owns the eponymous chain and the bookseller Waterstone's, has had a torrid time recently, with problems such as credit insurers cutting cover for some suppliers, three profit warnings and expected breaches of a banking covenant.

Its shares jumped 32 per cent, or 3.75p, to 15.25p yesterday after Mr Fox told the Retail Week conference in London, that having hundreds of stores is "absolutely at the heart of the offer".

The changes HMV was making, such as its move into live music venues, meant it would look very different in 2016, but it would maintain its high street presence, he said. The group is renegotiating its banking covenants with lenders. Mr Fox said: "It will take some weeks, possibly months to renegotiate the terms of our facilities but it's moving in the direction we were hoping to move in."

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