Clintons pulls the plug on lossmaking Birthdays chain

The latest High-Street victim of the recsssion is Birthdays, the cheaper offshoot of Clinton Cards, which has put it into administration, endangering 2100 jobs.

Clinton chairman Don Lewin said: "We have taken this decision with deep regret. In the current environment, the group cannot sustain supporting losses of approximately £7 million a year at Birthdays with limited opportunity to improve on that performance in the foreseeable future."

He added: "It is my genuine belief that there is a significant element of the Birthdays business that will have a profitable and sustainable future and there are still opportunities to make it a success."

But Lewin also admitted that the chain — which is now trading under administrators from Zolfo Cooper — had never been profitable since Clinton bought it from serial entrepreneur Tom Hunter for £46.4 million five years ago.

Today Clinton said that with roughly half the 332 Birthdays stores now loss-making it had been impossible to find a viable way of restructuring the business to keep it solvent.

Giftwrap and cards maker International Greeting confirmed that trading conditions remained difficult but said it should break even in the year just ended after a major restructuring.