Administrators close 229 Clinton Cards stores

ZOLFO COOPER administrators have announced that a further 17 Clinton Cards stores will go, bringing total closures to 229.

Peter Saville, Simon Freakley (pictured) and Anne O’Keefe, partners at Zolfo Cooper, were appointed joint administrators to Clinton Cards and its subsidiaries, including Birthdays Retail, on 9 May 2012.

Earlier this month, the administrators managed to sell 397 stores with a combined turnover of £212m to a subsidiary of American Greetings, Lakeshore Lending – saving about 4,500 jobs.

However, 330 stores were not included in the sale and remained under the control of the administrators. Details regarding the number of stores to close have fluctuated, with administrators now outlining the number of store closures as well as the timeframe for them.

On 8 June 43 stores were closed, on 21 June 122 stores, on 30 June 47 stores, and this week 17 stores will close.

This leaves about 100 stores under the administrators’ control.

A statement from the team said: “The joint administrators are still focusing their efforts on the stores identified as part of the closure programme announced on 16 May 2012. As a part of this exercise, the joint administrators continue to welcome expressions of interest in the remaining estate.”