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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Tamlyn Jones

HMV agrees deal to save Birmingham Bullring store

The HMV store in Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre has been saved from closure.

The music retailer announced earlier this month that it planned to close the shop just months after it opened its first ever HMV Vault in nearby Dale End - the group's largest outlet in Europe.

But the Bullring shop, along with five others across the UK, has been handed the lifeline after the retailer secured new agreements on the units with their respective landlords.

However, two others in the West Midlands, at Merry Hill in Dudley and in Worcester city centre, remain under threat of closure later in January.

A brief statement issued by HMV said: "We are delighted to announce that we have been able to secure new agreements on six stores which were previously under threat of closure.

"After previously widespread reports of the closure of these stores, this is great news for our staff and loyal customers in the communities who can continue to look to HMV to provide the best entertainment offer on the high street and online.

"Unfortunately, some previously mentioned stores still remain under threat of closure at the end of this month unless new deals can be agreed."

The five other stores saved from closure are in Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal, Glasgow Braehead, Grimsby, Reading's Oracle centre and Meadowhall in Sheffield while the shop in Bristol remains under threat of closure.

The HMV at Leeds Headrow has been replaced by a new store in the city's St Johns Shopping Centre which opened last year.

The new HMV Vault is housed in the former Ikea store and opened to much fanfare last October.

The shop has a different feel to its base in the Bullring with a less crowded floor area, sound stage and a 4K room to show off Blu-ray and DVDs.

Bullring, Grand Central and the HMV Vault unit are owned by retail group Hammerson but the latter is scheduled for demolition as part of the Martineau Galleries regeneration project.

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