Clinton Cards set to go into administration
Struggling greeting cards retailer Clinton Cards has announced that it expects one of its biggest suppliers to force it into administration today, potentially putting up to 8,000 jobs at risk.
The company has requested a suspension of dealings in its shares after a subsidiary of US company American Greetings bought £35 million of Clinton Cards’ debt from Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Clintons said its board believed that if the loan facilities were sold to American Greetings that the company would offer its ongoing support for the Clintons business and extend a waiver of “technical breaches” of its loan agreement with its banks.
However American Greetings told Clintons that it intends to enforce the loan against the company.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Clintons said: “The board has concluded that because it is unable to repay the loan it has no option but to concur with American Greetings proposal to place the company and its subsidiaries into administration.”
Clintons has been undergoing a restructuring exercise in an effort to turn the business around and had intended to publish its interim management statement on 10 May.
The retailer said trading for the 14 weeks of the second half to date had been difficult, with group like-for-like sales down by 3.5%. In March, Clintons reported a loss of £3.7 million for the six months to the end of January.
