Clinton Cards

It was announced on Thursday that a US retailer, American Greetings, has bought more than half of the 750 Clinton Cards after the company was placed in administration last month.

A branch at unit 70 in the Glades Shopping Centre and another in Orpington Shopping Park were snapped up in the purchase.

However, another Clinton Cards store and a Birthdays store in the Glades are in the first group of stores to be closed.

The administrators announced that from Friday last week, 43 stores would be shut across the UK. In Orpington, a Clinton Cards branch was left in limbo after it was excluded from the deal.

The Orpington High Street branch remains in the hands of the administrators where six people now face an even longer wait to find out their fate.

A spokesman for the administrators said the remaining stores are open to offers from potential buyers: “The joint administrators will now focus their efforts on the store portfolio identified as part of the closure programme and as part of this exercise the joint administrators continue to welcome expressions of interest for this part of the estate, as a whole or in part.”

Across the UK the national chain owned more than 750 stores and employed more than 8,000 staff.

After 45 years of success in the greetings cards market, Clinton Cards struggled to survive in the recession and on May 9 was placed in administration.

American Greetings will take on 397 stores which will save approximately 4,500 jobs.