Over half of staff at the west London headquarters of entertainment retailer Zavvi were made redundant this afternoon.

69 staff lost their jobs today out of a total of around 120. Ernst & Young is administrator.

The redundancies came as Zavvi's Irish business, which was unaffected by the collapse of the parent business on Christmas Eve, went into provisional liquidation, the Irish equivalent of administration. The company had 11 stores in the Irish Republic employing 201 staff. The stores are continuing to trade while a buyer is sought.

In the UK, attempts to find a buyer for the loss-making former Virgin Megastores business as a going concern are said to be struggling, and a break up of the store estate is though to be the most-likely outcome.

A spokeswoman for Ernst & Young said the administrator was continuing to assess all options for the business. All stores are continuing to trade.