Clinton Cards to close 350 stores with 2,800 job losses

Troubled retailer Clinton Cards, which is in administration, is to close almost half its stores across the UK, leading to the loss of 2,800 jobs.

Adminstrators Zolfo Cooper said that it has "regrettably" decided to close about 350 stores of its total of 784.

The closures include all of its Birthdays-branded stores.

"In the course of this work it has become clear that the business is burdened with an untenable retail estate," it said.

Clinton Cards was placed in administration on 9 May.

Founded in 1968, it was the UK's biggest card retailer and before its collapse employed more than 8,000 staff.

In March, Clinton Cards reported a loss of £3.7m for the six months to the end of January and said the outlook for 2012 was worse than previously thought.

It had loans of £35m to banks, which were then sold on its supplier, American Greetings.

While the banks had waived certain conditions for the loans, American Greetings had pressed for repayments that Clinton Cards could not meet.

Clinton Cards has been restructuring its business to try to turn around its fortunes, including closing a number of Clintons and Birthdays-branded UK stores.

Do you work for Clinton Cards? Are you worried about losing your job? Please get in touch using the form below.

If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions