HMV administrators end up the big winners

Accountants Deloitte, who were appointed administrators of UK music retail giant HMV, will invoice for a total of £11.7 million, though the accountancy firm says it is likely that 'only'  £8 million will be paid. Meanwhile two law firms who advised on the administration, particularly on employment law matters, will receive more than £3 million between them, Linklaters getting £2.3 million and Simmons & Simmons £1.1 million. Another intersting payment is £2.7 million invoiced by Retail Agents 260, a retail industry consultancy that provided advice to the accountants. It's interesting because Retail Agents 260 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hilco the company who then bought the HMV business and took a streamlined version of the company out of administration. HMV's unpaid creditors are likely to see only nominal payments, if anything. Amongst creditors owed about £230 million are HM Revnue & Customs, former landlords of shops,  one-time HMV owner EMI, and the HMV pension scheme, which may have to rely on the government-backed Pension Protection Fund to plug the gap.

HMV Manchester in store chaos prompts safety rethink

Manchester HMV will re-evaluates its safety policies after "hundreds" of Bars And Melody fans were locked out of an in-store appearance. According to the Manchester Evening News, the teen rap stars made an appearance at the store to sign copies of their debut single, 'Hopeful'. Entry was via the purchase of a paiud for copy of the CD, but many arrived after the shop had sold out. With many fans barred from meeting the duo and growing increasingly angry, HMV staff apparently pulled down the shop's shutters and called the police. Store manager Terry Doyle told the MEN that the store's capacity was a maximum of 600 people, and that 800 copies of the Bars And Melody single had been ordered in, which sold out on the morning of the event. A HMV spokesperson said "The safety and welfare of all customers is a priority and all events will continue to be organised with this at the front of mind. Clearly there may always be disappointed fans when events are organised with extremely popular artists, and HMV will work to minimise this disappointment wherever possible."

HMV to close nine stores

HMV will shut nine UK stores this month, with new owner Hilco closing stores where rents cannot be renegotiated. Amongst the shops to be closed - according to local media reports - are Stratford-upon-Avon, Leamington, Newport, Kettering, Islington and two in Edinburgh. 

Unsecured HMV creditors lose out

The banks that lent money to the old HMV Group plc have recovered £38.6 million after the sale of the flagging entertainment retailer to Hilco earlier this year, while financial and legal advisors to the defunct company will earn £15 million for their work. Unsecured creditors, including suppliers and landlords, will likely see nothing, while the old HMV pension fund will lose out on £26 million it was due , though a spokesman for the fund said that this will not affect members of the pension scheme

Live Nation and Warners upbeat on financials

Warner Music Group and Live Nation have both issued upbeat statements after bth forms latest financial figures were released. Live Nation said it had seen revenues 8.3% year-on-year in the last quarter to $1.7 billion in the quarter to the end of June, with net income of $59 million above analyst expectations with CEO Michael Rapino calling a 'record summer'.

Warner Music Group, meanwhile, had seen revenues increase by 1.8% in the same period, but losses had almost doubled to $63 million. Recorded music revenues increased by 3.3%, while digital revenues on recordings were up by 9.8% on the same quarter last year, representing 44.8% of total recorded music income. Comparatively, revenues on physical releases dropped by 5.8%.

Elsewhere HMV confirmed it was moving back into its original store on London's Oxford Street which it first occupied in 1922 until 2000 when the store moved to larger presmises, which were then given up t to Sports Direct earlier this year. New HMV owner Hilco confirmed the return this week

HMV back in Eire

HMV will return to the high street in Ireland: The entertainment retailer is reportedly in the process of recruiting about 100 staff ahead of the reopening of three of its Irish stores, two in Dublin and one in Limerick.

2,600 jobs saved in HMV UK rescue deal

Administrators Deloitte have confirmed  that HMV UK has been sold to Hilco, the restructuring company that already owns HMV Canada, and which will now take the British business out of administration. Hilco will take over 140 HMV stores, including the Fopp network, in a deal thought to be worth £50 million. The move will save 2,600 jobs at the UK's only remaining high street CD, games and DVD retailer. A small number of the flagging retailer's shops that have already been closed during the administration will reopen but over 70 others will shut with the loss, of 1,500 jobs. The chain owed £347 million when it failed, including £237 million to unsecured creditors who will remain unpaid. 

HMV gets new releases back

The administrators at UK high street chain  HMV have struck a deal with suppliers to get major new releases back on the retailers shelves.  

The deal, with suppliers including MGM and Universal, means that the remaining HMV stores will have current CD and DVD product available as well as being able to replenish stocks. 

HMV shuts up 66 shops

Administrators at HMV have said they will be shutting 66 stores in the UK,  one third  of the chain's 220 British outlets. Nearly 930 staff have had their jobs put at risk.  All 16 Irish stores have already been closed. Over 1 in 5 Brits no longer buy any for of physical carriers of music, relying on streaming and downloads for their music according to figures from the BPI. 

Another 60 jobs at the chain's HQ will also go in the latest round of cuts, adding to the 190 losses announced last week. They include the HMV's most recent CEO Trevor Moore, the former Jessops boss who joined the entertainment retailer last year after his predecessor Simon Fox jumped ship to Trinity Mirror.

G-A-Y founder regains company from HMV

The founder of the G-A-Y franchise, Jeremy Joseph, has revealed that he has put his own home on the line to regain control of his business, which includes the original clubbing brand, the G-A-Y labelled bars and London venue Heaven. HMV was a major shareholder in the G-A-Y company as a result of its 2010 acquisition of the MAMA Group and HMV’s administration last week meant that Joseph needed to get a deal done quickly to buy back his profitable company - Joseph says he was forced to withdraw money from his own bank account to keep G-A-Y operating last weekend. Joseph now has a loan from Metro Bank secured on his own home and other business interests.

HMV administrators to reinstate gift vouchers

After appalling negative publicity, Deloitte, the administrators at HMV,  have said that the stores will now accept their own gift vouchers, which were being sold right up to the point the retail chain went into administration. All money raised by HMV for various charities, including through sales of the Justice Collective single, will also be paid over in full. However promotional vouchers and loyalty cards are still not being accepted in stores, and are unlikely to be during the administration.

HMV perapres to go into administration

The UK's last remaining music retail chain, HMV,  is about to into administration, with the future of the 240 strong chain and 4,300 jobs at risk. 

Previous CEO Simon Fox had spearheaded a failed attempt to move into live music, and recent reports said that it was only credit lines from the major record labels which were keeping the ailing retailer alive. In the run-up to Christmas HMV's boss Trevor Moore warned the entertainment group was in trouble as he revealed the chain was in talks with banks over its future following worse-than-expected trading over the festive period. HMV joins camera and photography group Jessops and electrical retail chain Comet in the growing number of UK retail casualties, 

UMG on the hook for HMV?

The Telegraph has reported that Universal Music has ended up with EMI’s liability for the leases on 40 HMV stores, something that could become a £150 million problem if the entertainment retailer was to go under in the new year. EMI committed to guarantee about 40 HMV leases when the retail firm, previously a division of the music major, was spun off as an independent business in 1998. 

HMV wobbles again

HMV has admitted it is set to break loan covenants in January. The flagging retailer is currently in talks with its money-lenders in a bid to renegotiate the terms of its £176.1 million of debts. Having already sold its live music assets (MAMA), the retailer still has online platform 7digital as an asset,  but current reports say that the major record labels and DVD suppliers are propping up HMV with a 'sale or return' policy. 

MAMA MBO

The MAMA Group has new owners after a £7.3 management million deal backed by Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity arm of the 42% state owned Lloyds TSB.  HMV sold the MAMA’s network of smaller venues, a number of festivals, the Mean Fiddler tour promotion business and some other music and media assets to a consortium led by MAMA's existing CEO Dean James. The company runs a number of venues including The Forum, Jazz Cafe, The Garage, HMV Ritz Manchester and the Borderline, and organises the Wilderness Festival, Lovebox, Global Gathering and the Great Escape and now has a stake in All Tomorrows Parties.  The company also publishes the Fly magazine. MAMA's biggest single asset, the Hammersmith Apollo, had previously been sold to AEG/Eventim. HMV, then under the control of the now departed CEO Simon Fox, brought Mama for £64 million in 2009, giving the cash strapped group a substantial loss of approaching £25 million when combining the sales. 

Another HMV chief departs

In the UK, HMV has confirmed that the company's Finance Director David Wolfe is to follow CEO Simon Fox in leaving the flagging entertainment retail company.

HMV boss to leave

Simon Fox, The boss of flagging entertainment retailer HMV is to step down. He will be replaced former Jessops boss Trevor Moore, who will take over as CEO next month

Mama to split on sale?

Its seems HMV’s live division, the MAMA Group, may be split up before sale after all, though it’s possible the flagging retailer might actually keep hold of some of MAMA’s operations.  According to Sky News and City AM, there is a rumour that AEG is indeed only interested in the MAMA venues business, in particular the flagship Hammersmith Apollo, and that HMV is considering keeping hold of the other parts of its live division, in the short term at least.

Mama managers join Red Light

Billboard has confirmed that current MAMA executives James Sandom and Cerne Canning, part of the Supervision management team, will move over to US-based management group Red Light. Red Light have said that Sandom and Canning will set up a new London outpost for the company. Meanwhile, a third former SuperVision manager, Deb Fenstermacher, will join Red Light in New York. The move brings the artists managed by the three managers into the Red Light fold, including: Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, The Vaccines, Crystal Castles, The Cribs, White Lies, Here We Go Magic, Zulu Winter, Deap Vally, Crocodiles and Asobi Seksu. Two other SuperVision managers, Dave Cronen and Nigel Templeman, have reverted to the agency they ran prior to forming an alliance with MAMA in 2008, Trust Management.

More departures from MAMA?

HMV's move to sell the MAMA Group has already resulted in some key executives departing and now it's emerged that some of the staff behind the MAMA management agency SuperVision have already launched a new venture called Trust Management which lists in its profile a roster including some former SuperVision-managed artists, such as Ash, Howler and Out Like A Lion - but a later report in Record Of The Day says that it understands that MAMA managers James Sandom and Cerne Canning are joining rivals Red Light Management.