Jessops' bank HSBC has taken control of the UK's largest photographic retailer, alongside its pension fund and employee trust in a debt-for-equity swap designed to save the business.HSBC is set to hold a 47% stake in Jessops, while the Jessops pension fund and the employee benefit trust will respectively take a 33% and 20% shareholding. The decision, which comes after more than 12 months of negotiations,will see HSBC forgo £34m of debts, leaving only £20m of debt in the business, according to Jessops.David Adams, executive chairman of Jessops, says, according to press reports, that while the deal is 'regrettable news for equity holders [...] the important thing is that 2000 jobs are safe. There hasn't been any equity for a while now, and we have commented two times this year there was unlikely to be any value in the equity.'
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