Administrators to Clinton Cards close 99 stores so far
Zolfo Cooper administrators announce a further 43 store closures
CLINTON CARDS administrators from Zolfo Cooper have announced the closure of a further 43 stores, bringing the total number of closures to 99.
Peter Saville, Simon Freakley 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.
A spokeswoman for Clinton Cards said: “There have been approximately 700 redundancies to date due to the closures.”
At the time of appointment, Clinton Cards was the UK’s largest retailer of greeting cards and related products, with more than 750 stores across its two retail brands, Clinton Cards and Birthdays, and employed about 8,000 staff.
Earlier this month, the administrators managed to sell 397 stores with a combined turnover of £212m to a subsidiary of American Greetings, Lakeshore Lending, which has saved about 4,500 jobs. However, the administrators also announced the closure of 56 stores.
The administrators have now announced a further 43 stores, which were not included in the sale, will have to close immediately. About 250 stores are still outstanding in the Clinton Cards portfolio.