HMV GROUP is considering selling its live division – MAMA Group – which operates festivals including The Great Escape, Lovebox and High Voltage.

In an interim results statement today the company said like-for-like sales in the 26 weeks to October 29 dropped 11.6%. Pre-tax losses hit £36.4m, compared to a £27.4m loss in the same period in 2010 – with losses after tax at £10.2m (2010: £10.6m loss).

The total HMV Group loss in the period was £50.1m (2010: £30.9m loss), but this included costs associated with the sale of Waterstone’s in June, when it also agreed a £220m refinancing deal with banks and sold its Canadian arm.

In a statement, HMV said: “The Board has initiated a strategic review of HMV Live which may lead to its sale, the proceeds of which would strengthen the financial position of the Group.”

CEO Simon Fox said: ““This has been a challenging start to the year. However, we have taken decisive action to restructure the business and are now seeing the benefits of this, particularly in our Technology products business. Like all consumer-facing companies we are facing tough trading conditions but we continue to push forwards through this period. We remain well prepared for the key trading days ahead.”