Clintons Cards prepares to shut 38 stores to avoid going bust - what we know

Clintons is preparing to close 38 of its card shops with the hope of saving the retailer from insolvency. The card shop has reportedly brought in advisers to work on a debt-for-equity deal as it continues to battle “acute financial distress”.

The Retail Gazette has reported that the plans could see Clinton’s close around a fifth of its existing stores. These shops would close on top of the 156 shops it closed back in December 2019 as part of a pre-pack administration, when previous owner the Weiss family bought it.

But the store’s closures and cut costs Clintons still struggled financially and explored a merger with Paperchase in December 2022. However, the merger failed when Paperchase collapsed into administration in January this year and its intellectual property and brand was bought by Tesco.

According to documents seen by The Times, Clintons’ store closure plan has been designed to “avoid insolvency and be rescued as a going concern” and that the retailer “will have no option but to commence formal insolvency proceedings” if it does not secure a deal.

The news comes after another retailer, Wilko which has been on British highstreets for almost 100 years found itself on the brink of collapse this week, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.