Music retailer HMV is poised to become the first high street casualty after Christmas as it teeters on the brink of administration, endangering thousands of jobs.

The group, which trades from around 130 stores including in Festival Place and employs more than 2,000 staff, is set to appoint corporate undertakers at KPMG as administrators amid a cash crisis.

It will be the second time HMV has collapsed in recent years, having filed for administration in 2013, after which it was acquired by its current owner, Hilco.

Paul McGowan, executive chairman of HMV and Hilco, said: "During the key Christmas trading period the market for DVD fell by over 30 per cent compared to the previous year and, whilst HMV performed considerably better than that, such a deterioration in a key sector of the market is unsustainable.

"HMV has clearly not been insulated from the general malaise of the UK high street and has suffered the same challenges with business rates and other government-centric policies which have led to increased fixed costs in the business.

"Business rates alone represent an annual cost to HMV in excess of £15 million. Even an exceptionally well-run and much-loved business such as HMV cannot withstand the tsunami of challenges facing UK retailers over the last 12 months on top of such a dramatic change in consumer behaviour in the entertainment market."