East Road music store is closed as PMT calls in administrators
Music lovers face a challenge when buying new instruments, amps and accessories following the closure of the PMT store on East Road this month.
Headquartered in Liverpool, PMT is a multi-channel retailer of musical instruments and associated musical equipment. The company operated from 16 stores across England and Wales, as well as via its online platform PMT Online.
In common with other companies operating across the music retailing sector, PMT had faced a variety of challenges in recent times which had impacted financial performance. Competitive pricing of musical instruments had shrunk the margins of top-branded equipment, while fragile consumer confidence was affecting sales of high-end products. The company also suffered from ongoing industry-wide upward pressure on fixed costs, including rent, business rates and people costs. In addition, and following a number of recent insolvencies across the sector, credit terms had also tightened up and down the supply chain, hitting cashflow.
In its last set of published accounts to the end of April 2024 the business achieved revenue of £43m (2023: £47.1m) and reported an EBITDA of £182,489 (after making a loss of £574,133 the previous year).
It made a pre-tax loss of £280,193 in the year.
In response, the directors sought to explore the options available to them, including a possible reorganisation of their store estate, as well as sale, refinance and investment options. However, with no solvent option available, the directors took the decision to call in the administrators.
Rick Harrison and Howard Smith from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to S & T Audio Limited, which trades as PMT (Play Music Today), on 11 June.
Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a sale of certain of the company’s assets, most notably the company’s stock, to Gear4music Limited. PMT’s 16 stores closed with immediate effect.
Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “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. 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 had its head office in Southend, a warehouse in Liverpool, and stores in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Romford and Southend.
MusicStreet in Huntingdon is now the nearest guitar store, while Millers Music in Sussex Street sells new pianos.
