HMV in Sheffield among 27 stores to close

The shop is the only one in Yorkshire to close after HMV was acquired out of administration by Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, safeguarding the future of nearly 1,500 staff.

Others to close include the HMV on London's Oxford Street, in Bath, Plymouth and Reading, with two closing in Bristol.

Sunrise, which is owned by Doug Putman, beat off competition from the likes of Mike Ashley for the stricken retailer and will acquire 100 stores across the UK.

However, the 27 to shut their doors will result in 455 redundancies.

Staff in the HMV store in Hull's struggling Whitefriargate, which has recently been hit by the devastating prospect of M&S closing, possibly in April, were relieved.

"In terms of the bids that were put in this one was one of the better ones. We feared it could have been worse," said one of the staff.

Administrator KPMG will retain a further 122 employees at warehouse functions to assist in winding down operations.

Mr Putman said: "We are delighted to acquire the most iconic music and entertainment business in the UK and add nearly 1,500 employees to our growing team.

"By catering to music and entertainment lovers, we are incredibly excited about the opportunity to engage customers with a diverse range of physical format content and replicate our success in Canada.

"We know the physical media business is here to stay and we greatly appreciate all the support from the suppliers, landlords, employees and, most importantly, our customers."

HMV became the first high street casualty after Christmas when its then owner Hilco called in corporate undertakers in December.

It was the second time HMV has collapsed in recent years, having filed for administration in 2013.

The likes of Poundworld, Toys'R'Us and Maplin all went bust last year amid brutal trading, while heavyweights Marks & Spencer and Debenhams announced plans to shutter hundreds of stores.

Several others - including Superdry, Carpetright and Card Factory - have all issued profit warnings.