HMV buyer eyes Jessops (From Worcester News)

HMV buyer eyes Jessops

7:05pm Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News By Sarah Davies

COLLAPSED camera chain Jessops is the latest high street casualty to be eyed by restructuring firm Hilco UK.

The group, which bought the debt of stricken music chain HMV this week, is in discussions with administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) about buying the Jessops brand.

PwC has already closed all of the Leicester-based chain's 187 shops, including branches in Worcester and Evesham, with the loss of 1,370 jobs but reports suggest Hilco is considering opening Jessops concessions in HMV stores.

Administrator Rob Hunt confirmed there were a number of people interested in Jessops, but would not disclose individual names.

The camera group was the first high-profile retail casualty of 2013, after suffering from online competition and a boom in camera phones in recent years, hitting demand for digital cameras.

Hilco, which is best known for its recent rescue of furnishings group Habitat, was founded out of a partnership between UK management and the distressed retail and advisory firm Hilco Group in the US.

It was appointed adviser to HMV's administrators Deloitte on Monday and has taken on the music chain's debt from lenders Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland in a move effectively giving it control of the business.