// Future of Clintons secured following sale out of administration to Esquire Retail Limited
// Esquire Retail is run by the same family behind Clintons’ former parent company American Greetings
// The deal will safeguard 2500 jobs and all 334 stores across the UK will continue to trade
Clintons’ future on the British high street has been secured after the Weiss family regained control of it immediately after it was put into administration.
Will Wright and Steve Absolom from KPMG’s restructuring practice were appointed joint administrators to Clintons today.
Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators sold Clintons’ brand and assets to Esquire Retail Limited.
The deal that safeguards all 2500 jobs and which will see all 334 Clintons’ stores across the UK continue to trade.
READ MORE:
- Clintons offers £2m compensation for landlords ahead of CVA vote
- Is stationery retail being erased from the high street?
- Clintons to shut 1 in 5 stores
Esquire Retail is a newly-incorporated UK company that lists members of the Weiss family as directors.
The Weiss family have a 40 per cent stake in Clintons’ now-former parent company American Greetings. Up until 2018, the family had a majority stake in the firm.
Clintons’ administrators said that like many other bricks-and-mortar retailers, the greeting cards retailer had faced mounting cash flow pressures in the face of challenging high street trading conditions.
Its administration and subsequent sale to Esquire Retail comes after weeks of speculation that suggested Clintons could launch a CVA to help safeguard the business.
“We are pleased to have been able to secure the future of the Clintons business, protecting all of our talented 2500-strong workforce and ensuring continuation of trade across all of our UK store network at what is a crucial time of the year for the business,” Clintons chief executive Eddie Shepherd said.
“Like so many of our fellow high street retailers, we have worked tirelessly to contend with the maelstrom of issues impacting the sector, from business rates pressures, to fragile consumer confidence and the lack of clarity around the taxation of online retail businesses.
“As part of our exploration of sale options to secure the future of the business, we entered into extensive discussions with stakeholders with a view to entering into a CVA.
“Despite receiving support from a number of landlords, we were unfortunately unable to secure the requisite support needed to successfully launch our proposals.
“With no other investment options available, we therefore had to take the difficult step to place the company into administration.
“We are confident that this deal will kickstart a new chapter for our business.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
