Some €27,000 raised in HMV sales for a charity single for cancer sufferer Lily-Mae Morrison are to be paid.
About 300 musicians supported the version of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer to raise money for treatment for the four-year-old girl from Galway.
Lily-Mae’s mother Judith said the donations were very important.
“We’re delighted that the Tiny Dancer invoices from HMV will be honoured,” she said.
“This money is very important for Lily-Mae’s future and for the future of all the children suffering for neuroblastoma as half of it will go to neuroblastoma research.
“Right now our main focus is Lily-Mae, who is a very sick little girl. She and her brother Evan are the centre of our world. We’d like to thank everyone for the continued support.”
It is hoped some of the money raised, in the region of €70,000 now, can be used to fund treatment for Lily-Mae, who suffers from the rare childhood cancer of the nervous system.
HMV’s Ireland operation was put into receivership last week with stores closed for the foreseeable future.
It is understood an arrangement was reached between receivers in Deloitte and Lily-Mae’s family.
Stephen Macken, who produced the new version of Elton John’s track, called A Song For Lily-Mae, said it broke into the top 20 in online downloads and almost hit the top 10 a second time after the HMV story broke last week.
HMV debt bought
Restructuring specialist Hilco has bought the debt of HMV, according to sources close to the situation, giving it a big influence in the fate of the British entertainment retailer.
Hilco, which bought HMV Canada in 2011 and salvaged home goods firm Habitat, has bought the debt from HMV's lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, the sources said today.
HMV, which has over 200 stores and more than 4,000 staff, had underlying net debt of £176.1 million pounds (€209.8 million) in October.
The acquisition does not mean Hilco now owns HMV but does give the group a central role in its future, potentially giving the 92-year-old retailer and its administrators Deloitte more time to attract new backers.
Hilco, RBS and Lloyds all declined to comment. Deloitte was not immediately available for comment.
Deloitte has received over 50 expressions of interest in HMV including from trade buyers and private equity firms. Video games seller Game has confirmed it is interested in buying a number of HMV stores.
Hilco has widely been regarded as a frontrunner to take full control of HMV due to its relationship with music labels and film studios through its Canadian business.
Yesterday it was appointed to help Deloitte run the business during the administration process, one of the sources said.
HMV's business of selling DVDs and CDs has struggled in declining markets and amid increased competition from supermarkets and online retailers such as Amazon.
PA, Bloomberg