CD and DVD retailer Zavvi went into administration this morning, putting another 3,400 jobs at risk as the crisis facing British retailers escalated today.

The Times revealed earlier this month that Ernst & Young had been appointed as standby administrator of the retailer, which was previously part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

Zavvi became embroiled in the collapse of Woolworths after its distribution arm EUK failed to deliver CDs, DVDs and computer games in the chaos of its own administration leaving Zavvi unable to stock shelves. It is the third major retailer to collapse in just 24 hours, putting an estimated 4,000 jobs at risk.

The Officers Club, the menswear retailer, was taken into new ownership today and Whittard of Chelsea was placed in administration last night.

The Officers Club had been struggling in the current economic downturn.

It was put up for sale last night by its administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club, has taken on 118 of the chain's 150 stores with his company, TimeC 1215. The deal will save 900 jobs, but hundreds more will be lost. The remaining 32 stores will close immediately.

Ian Green, from PwC in Leeds, which co-ordinated the sale, said: "The sale to TimeC 1215 Limited represents a significantly better result for the creditors of the companies than any other alternative."

The Officers Club began in Sunderland in the early 1990s, selling clothes sourced cheaply in Asia under its own-brand labels.

The business took off quickly, and after buy-outs, The Officers Club became Britain's biggest menswear-only retailer, with flagship outlets on Oxford Street in London, and in the North East.

But it encountered difficulties as it sought to migrate to the middle market from its position as a value retailer.

Whittard of Chelsea, the 122-year-old tea and coffee chain, went into administration yesterday. Its 138 stores will stay open at least until the end of the year after the company’s administrator, Ernst & Young, negotiated a sale to Epic Private Equity, a specialist investor that already owns the novelty retailer Past Times.

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