HMV Group, having warned that it would not comply with its banking covenants this month, has this morning entered into administration, placing 4,500 jobs at risk.
The high street DVD and CD retailer, which owns 239 stores across the UK, saw its board meet last night ahead of the move to appoint Deloitte as its administrators.
A statement from the group said: "The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect."
Trading is expected to continue while a buyer for the business is sought, the board has also said.
HMV opened its first store in 1921 and has been a staple of High Streets across Britain and Ireland ever since, however in recent years the group has struggled to compete with online sales and rivals appearing, while delaying its own move into e-commerce.
The administration comes just days after the closure of another high street retailer Jessops.