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Troubled music retailer Zavvi is to close a further 18 stores, administrators Ernst & Young have said.

The closures, which will cost 353 jobs, include the music and DVD chain's flagship store in Piccadilly Circus in London.

The music retailer, formerly Virgin Megastore, fell into administration on December 24th. The company has suffered since the collapse of Woolworths
 
Last week, the administrators were forced to close 22 of Zavvi's 114 stores in the UK with immediate effect.

Despite receiving in excess of 70 expressions of interest, Ernst & Young said today's closures were necessary because it had “not received any offers for the store portfolio as a whole.”

The announcement will come as another major blow to the British high street, which has already been hard by the economic downturn.

Zavvi relied on Woolworths' distribution branch Entertainment UK (EUK) to deliver its CDs, DVDs and video games.

The company stopped deliveries and online trading last November after the long-established high street store collapsed.