The movie rental firm Blockbuster has gone into administration.

The New Year has brought bad news for the UK’s high streets, with music retailer HMV also going into administration and the camera and photography retailer Jessops doing the same earlier this month. Before Christmas, the electrical retailer Comet also went under, with many consumers frantically trying to buy up their cut-priced goods before they closed their doors permanently.

Blockbuster currently has 528 stores and employs 4,190 staff. Deloitte, the accountancy firm, have taken over the running of the company, the BBC reports and the stores are expected to continue trading until a buyer is found for the company. A spokesman for Deloitte’s Restructuring Services, Lee Manning, said “We are working closely with suppliers and employees to ensure the business has the best possible platform to secure a sale, preserve jobs and generate as much value as possible for all creditors.”

Unlike HMV gift cards, which cannot be spent, he confirmed that “During this time gift cards and credit acquired through Blockbuster's trade-in scheme will be honoured towards the purchase of goods.” Blockbuster has been trading on the British high street since 1989 but has hit by the increased popularity of online DVD rental. The firm is accused, by Professor Ajay Bhalia, of Cass Business School, of failing “to transform its business model early enough.”