Jessops goes into administration

Jessops, which was founded in 1935, is a major high street and online retailer of photographic equipment.
Despite a turnover of £236m last year across 192 stores, its core marketplace has seen a significant decline in 2012, according to its joint administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
At this stage there are no details about whether the firm’s Newbury branch, which is located next to Waterstones in Northbrook Street, will close.
Jessops also has other stores in nearby Andover, Basingstoke, Reading and Swindon, as well as two branches in Oxford, and employs 2,000 staff in the UK.
Joint administrator and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rob Hunt said: “Over the last few days the directors, funders and key suppliers have been in discussions as regards additional consensual financial support for the business. However these discussions have not been successful. In light of these irreconcilable differences the directors decided to appoint
administrators and we were appointed earlier today.
“Our most pressing task is to review the Company's financial position and hold discussions with its principal stakeholders to see if the business can be preserved. Trading in the stores is hoped to continue today but is critically dependent on these ongoing discussions. However, in the current economic climate it is inevitable that there will be store closures.”
At present Jessops is not in a position to honour customer vouchers or to accept returned goods, Mr Hunt added.