Birthdays closures hit 750 jobs

Clinton has bought back many of the more profitable shops.

About 750 jobs will be lost at the card chain Birthdays with the closure of 136 shops, administrators have said.

Birthdays, which had employed more than 2,100 people with 332 outlets, was put into administration by its parent company Clinton Cards last month.

Clinton is buying back 196 stores which it says will save the jobs of 1,450 people, but the unsold shops will shut.

Birthdays went into administration in May when Clinton said it could not sustain the chain's £7m annual losses.

Clinton is paying £3.5m for the stores, £3.25m of which will come from writing down the amount Birthdays owes to it.

In the year to 3 August 2008, the 196 stores that Clinton is buying had sales of £74m and had a gross asset value of about £26m.

News of the deal sent shares in Clinton Cards up. Shares closed 25% higher at 27.25 pence.