Outrage over Clintons’ £13.5m profit after administration

Clinton Cards has been blasted for what was described as a “phoenix administration” by the British Property Federation (BPF) after the group made a £13.5m profit from subsidiary Birthdays stores.

The federation was indignant at Clinton Cards' profit, after unprofitable Birthdays was put into administration and stores were closed, before Clintons bought some back at a profit.

The information was disclosed in Clinton’s annual results, and sparked anger among landlords represented by the federation. Clinton Cards put all 323 Birthdays stores into administration in May with the loss of 750 jobs, but re-acquired 196 stores a month later.

BPF chief executive Liz Peace said: “This underlines why many landlords feel aggrieved by the insolvency process. The issue is that insolvencies like this are a charter for failing businesses to walk away from legally binding contracts without paying a penny, while everyone else – like the 750 people who lost their jobs – has to accept the consequences of bad business decisions.”

“When firms claim hardship and then buy themselves back saving millions of pounds or start expanding again with rights issues and new stores, the likelihood is that landlords will stand firm for the sake of not wanting to annoy the rest of their customers,” she added.

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