Clintons will close 38 stores after an insolvency court approved a restructuring plan to avoid a complete collapse of the business, the Evening Standard has reported.
Under the new business plan presented by restructuring expert FRP Advisory and law firm Jones Day, the greetings card retailer will pay lower business rates and rent for the 38 unprofitable shops it is set to close.
The deal will see Clintons pay 8.6p for every pound it owes to landlords and local councils for the 38 stores, saving the high street retailer from collapsing altogether.
Clintons owners Jeff and Zev Weiss have also agreed to provide a revolving loan facility to the retailer for the next 12 months. The Weiss family bought Clintons in 2019 after the business went into administration.
The move comes after The Times reported that Clintons was planning to close approximately one-fifth of its store estate to avoid insolvency.
In documents seen by The Times, the retailer said: “It is common knowledge that the UK high street retail sector has been in decline for a number of years.
“Many retailers have entered into insolvency processes or otherwise have had to greatly reduce the scales of their operations.
“The Clintons business has not been invulnerable to such economic conditions.
“The plan company will soon no longer be able to fund its day-to-day operations nor discharge its debts and liabilities as and when they fall due… As such, the plan company is in a state of acute financial distress.”
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