The Leyton and Woodford Green branches of Blockbuster are to remain open despite an announcement today that a further 164 branches of the chain are to close.

The film and video game rental firm, which formerly employed a total of 4,190 people in 528 UK stores, went into administration last month after years of tough competition from online businesses.

Administrators at Deloitte announced shortly afterwards that 161 branches would close, and today have added a further 164 to that list.

But the stores in Leyton High Road and the Broadway in Woodford Green are not on either list and will remain open for the time being, a spokeswoman said.

Joint Administrator Lee Manning said in a statement today: “We have continued to review the performance of individual stores since our appointment a month ago and have concluded that further closures are necessary in order to restructure the company for sale.

"We would like to thank the company’s employees for their support and professionalism during this difficult time and we are also grateful for the continued support of customers.

"We are in discussions with a number of parties interested in purchasing all or parts of the business and will update on progress in due course.”

Last month it was revealed that Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) was considering opening a gym in the Leyton branch if the site was to be sold off.