Clinton Cards, the greetings cards retailer, is poised to enter administration, continuing the string of casualties on the UK’s high street. Zolfo Cooper, the restructuring group, has been lined up as administrator to the business, which has about 8,000 stores and employs 4,800 full time staff. Clinton said in a statement on Wednesday morning that it was requesting a suspension of its shares after Clintons’ biggest supplier American Greetings, acquired its £35m of debt from Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday night. American Greetings is thought to have acquired the debt in order to protect its supply position in the event of a sale of the business, according to people familiar with the situation. It is expected that Zolfo Cooper will try to seek a sale of the business, the people added. Some stores are likely to close, although it was too early to put a figure on this, they said. A statement is expected later on Wednesday. The situation is thought to have evolved very quickly. Potentially interested parties could include American Greetings, Don Lewin, the founder of Clintons, or some of the retail turnround outfits that have shown an interest in previous businesses that have collapsed into administration this year, retail analysts suggested on Wednesday. Clintons said it was “not in breach of any financial covenant or repayment obligation.” However, it said it had been in receipt of temporary waivers for some technical breaches of default “related to management changes and supplier-related discussions”. The move will ring alarm bells for retail landlords, as Clinton is a significant shopping centre tenant. The company had been in the middle of a strategic review under chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer, the former managing director of Starbucks UK, who joined the retailer in October. He had been due to unveil the conclusions this week.
GMT 09:54 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Davos-bound bosses very upbeat on world economyGMT 09:37 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Former KPMG executives charged in accounting oversight scamGMT 22:49 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Brexit special trade agreement possibleGMT 22:46 2018 Saturday ,20 January
China economy rebounds in 2017 with 6.9% growthGMT 22:37 2018 Saturday ,20 January
GE takes one-off hit of $6.2 bn linked to insurance activitiesGMT 19:58 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Watchmakers hope to make Chinese market tickGMT 19:54 2018 Saturday ,20 January
US shutdown unlikely to harm debt rating: FitchGMT 19:50 2018 Saturday ,20 January
EU's Moscovici slams Ireland, Netherlands as tax 'black holes'

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor