All Remaining Blockbuster UK Stores To Shutter By December 16th

Blockbuster UK‘s administrators, Moorfields Corporate Recovery, last month said they were focusing on securing a future for as much of the business as possible, and trying to save jobs before Christmas. Sadly, the holiday will not be a festive one for the ailing video rental chain’s final 808 store employees. Moorfields today said the remainder of the shops will cease operations in Britain by December 16th. The closure of those 91 outlets comes after last week’s announcement that 62 stores were shuttering with a loss of 427 jobs. The full shut down of Blockbuster UK outlets follows one month on from Dish Network’s announcement that it would close Blockbuster’s 300 remaining U.S. retail stores and distribution centers. In January, Blockbuster UK sought bankruptcy protection with Deloitte acting as administrators. Then in March, the chain looked like it might get a reprieve as private equity firm Gordon Brothers Europe acquired the company’s business and assets. But Gordon Brothers was unable to orchestrate a turnaround and last month, Moorfields was appointed administrator. Moorfields said last week that the last 91 stores risked closure. All remaining stock will be sold by December 15th at up to 90% discounts. Moorefields’ Simon Thomas and Nick O’Reilly said, “It is with regret that we have to make today’s announcement, we appreciate this is a difficult time for all concerned and would like to thank staff for their professionalism and support over the past month. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a buyer for the group as a going concern and as a result had to take the regrettable action to close the remaining stores.”