2 June 2012 Last updated at 05:43 ET

Jobs under threat as camera retailer Cecil Jacobs goes in administration

The largest independent camera retailer in the UK has gone into administration, putting more than 150 jobs at risk.

Leicester-based Cecil Jacobs will be run by administrators PKF, who will look for a new owner.

The family-run firm started on Melton Road in Leicester 1939 and has 19 stores across England, Scotland and Wales.

The firm has struggled with the economic downturn and the increasing quality of cameras on mobile phones.

'Desperately sad'

In 1984, the firm opened a superstore amid booming demand for photography and home video and three years later opened its first store outside Leicester, in Birmingham.

The company moved into Wales in 2007 and Scotland 2009, while the third generation of the Jacobs family joined in 2005 and started the JacobsDigital.co.uk website.

PKF spokesman Eddie Kerr said: "It's desperately sad to see a family-run business such as Cecil Jacobs encounter problems.

"The company has a rich heritage and loyal customer base, but this has not been enough to see it through the ongoing economic slowdown."

The company has three stores in London, two in Leicester and others in Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Kingston upon Thames, Glasgow, Hull, Edinburgh, Derby, Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham.