'Blockbuster has a future', insists prospective administrator

Moorfields Corporate Recovery has been put on standby after Blockbuster owners Gordon Brothers filed an intention to appoint administrators yesterday. It would be the second time Blockbuster has collapsed within a year and would put 2,000 jobs at risk. 32 redundancies were made at head office yesterday.

A Moorfields Corporate Recovery spokeswoman said it is “working with Blockbuster to seek a buyer for all parts of the business”.

She added: “Whilst the business has suffered a challenging trading period we believe Blockbuster still provides a good opportunity within the retail marketplace.”

Gordon Brothers acquired Blockbuster in March after its collapse in January. It operates 264 stores.

Gordon Brothers said in a statement that since acquiring Blockbuster it has “striven to turnaround the historically loss-making company by restructuring the business, investing significantly in strategic marketing activities and negotiating with the landlords of its retail outlets” and by attempting to develop a new digital platform. The latter ambition was stymied by inability to reach a licensing deal with Blockbuster UK’s former parent company in the US. 

The statement continued: “Efforts will now be focused on giving the company a chance of future survival through a reduced and different business model in the hope that a buyer will be found.”

Gordon Brothers Europe chief executive Frank Morton said: “Since the acquisition we have worked extremely hard to reignite the Blockbuster brand, make our investment work and put the business on a viable footing.  Despite our best efforts, we regret that we are now forced to make some redundancies and would like to thank any affected employees for their support during the last six months.”