British music retailer Zavvi has gone into administration, putting more than 3,000 jobs at risk.
Zavvi was formerly the Virgin Megastore chain, owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, but changed its name in Britain and Ireland after a management buy-out last year.
Founder Simon Douglas and Steve Peckham linked the problem to the collapse of Woolworths' Entertainment UK (EUK) wholesaling division along with the rest of the group earlier this month.
'We have done all that is possible to keep the business trading, but the problems encountered with EUK, and particularly its recent failure, has been too much for the business to cope with,' they said in a statement. The stores will stay open while a buyer is sought.
Ernst & Young has been appointed as administrator of Zavvi UK and liquidator of Zavvi Guernsey but Zavvi Ireland is not subject to any formal insolvency proceedings. Zavvi has 11 stores in the Republic and five in Northern Ireland.
