What does this mean for HMV?

The stores

Up to half of the 239 stores could close as part of any rescue deal. Only profitable stores will survive. It is likely that stores in high footfall shopping centres, such as Sheffield’s Meadowhall, Manchester’s Trafford Centre or Kent’s Bluewater, will be sought after.

The public

For the music-loving British public, the collapse of HMV was one of the saddest days. Beyond the aisles of their local supermarket, this will mean many consumers can only buy music, films or computer games on Amazon or via iTunes and other MP3 download sites.

The brand

Founded in 1921, HMV stands for ‘His Master’s Voice’ and the retailer is synonymous with ‘Nipper’, the Jack Russell dog that listens to a gramophone in its most famous logo. If Deloitte is unable to sell a slimmed-down version of HMV as a going concern, it is likely to find strong demand for the brand.

The board

Trevor Moore made a brave move when he became chief executive in September, although after leaving camera chain Jessops it could be argued he jumped out of frying pan into the fire. He joined on the same day as finance director Ian Kenyon, who had previously held the same role at Best Buy Europe.

The creditors

HMV’s syndicate of eight banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, ING, Santander and Sweden’s Handelsbanken, as top secured creditors, will rank above all others in terms of recouping money. Its shareholders, who suffered the ignominy of the share price sinking to just 1.1p this week, are set to end up empty handed.

Deloitte

During the administration of Woolworths in 2008, Deloitte’s head of global reorganisation services Neville Kahn became a household name in the business press. The Arsenal fan and keen golfer also worked on the administration of the electricals chain Comet.