"It’s been a tough few years": UK gear retailer PMT closes its doors, makes 96 staff redundant and sells £2.4m of stock to Gear4Music

Musical instrument retailer Play Music Today (also known as PMT) has closed down all 11 of its UK stores across England and Wales, ceased trading and entered administration. PMT Online, the company's online platform, has also been shut down.

PMT's directors have said in a statement that they explored all options available to them to keep the company afloat, including sale, refinance and investment options and a reorganisation of their store estate. Interpath's Howard Smith and Rick Harrison were appointed joint administrators to S & T Audio Limited, PMT's holding company, on 11 June.

Insider Media reports that there have been 96 redundancies across PMT's team, with 48 members of staff retained to assist administrators.

£2.4 million worth of stock and "certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data" have been sold to Yorkshire-based music retailer Gear4music for £1.2 million. Gear4music has stated that it is not acquiring any part of PMT's trading business and has no plans to use the PMT trading name.

The UK's fourth largest music gear retailer, PMT was founded in 1991, and its first store was opened in Southend On Sea by owners Simon Gilson and Terry Hope. At its peak, the company grew to encompass a total of 15 locations across the UK, its Birmingham outlet featuring the largest guitar wall in Europe.

"It’s been a tough few years for specialist music equipment retailers who have battled headwinds including rising costs, dwindling margins and the rising cost of living affecting consumer behaviour," Harrison said in a statement. "Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the board, in the case of PMT, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome."

"While we are pleased to have concluded a sale of the stock and other assets to Gear4music, our immediate priority is to provide support to those employees who have been made redundant, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service."

PMT is the latest in a series of music gear retailers to close their doors in recent months. Brighton-based music store GAK ceased trading in April, before selling stock and other assets to Gear4Music, while Dutch retailer Bax Music was declared bankrupt just weeks before. Last year, US gear retailer Sam Ash Music closed all of its 42 stores after 100 years in business.

A statement on Gear4music's website says that outstanding orders made through PMT that weren't fulfilled prior to 11 June will not be fulfilled, and suggests that customers make a claim as an unsecured creditor in PMT's insolvency by contacting Interpath on pmtcustomers@interpath.com. Warranties or guarantees issued by PMT are "likely void" and gift cards or vouchers for the store are no longer valid.