Blockbuster acquires stranded ChoicesUK stores

The administrator of ChoicesUK has confirmed that Blockbuster has bought out 59 of the troubled retailer’s outlets.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has revealed that the stores will be rebranded under the Blockbuster name.

The sale will secure employment for approximately 450 employees across the UK. However, 80 ChoicesUK stores remain without a buyer – and fears are growing for their employees.

Joint administrator for PricewaterhouseCoopers Nick Cropper said:

Following the sale of the local and direct businesses last week, I am pleased to announce the sale of a significant number of the retail stores to Blockbuster GB Limited. The sale secures approximately 450 jobs for those employees in the 59 stores across the UK.

"It enables the stores to operate under the renowned Blockbuster brand, backed by a strong management team with in-depth retail experience, serving customers with the wide range of products and services Blockbuster offers throughout the UK. This sale would not have been possible without the considerable support of the employees, suppliers and customers of ChoicesUK.

Our priority now is to focus all our efforts on achieving a sale of all or part of the remainder of the store portfolio.”

Managing director for Blockbuster Europe Martin Higgins added:

We see tremendous opportunities with our business in the UK and this purchase fits very well with our overall strategy. Our goal is to be a complete source for home entertainment and during the past several months we’ve focused on a number of key initiatives, including expanding our retail selection of movies and games and improving our rental proposition.

"These enhancements along with our growing games business, trade-in system and DVD-By-Post give consumers more options that we believe can satisfy their home entertainment needs. We look forward to making all of these programs available to customers under the Blockbuster name in our newly acquired stores.”

Earlier this month, ChoicesUK’s wholesale, online and mail order divisions were sold to multi-channel retailer Findel.