St John’s Shopping Centre in Perth could potentially lose a long-running retailer with greetings cards chain Clintons set to close dozens of stores
Clintons has begun restructuring talks with landlords. Shop closures and rent cuts are seen to be necessary as part of a survival plan.
It is involved in a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an insolvency process that allows companies to continue trading while pushing through closures and rent cuts.
It has appointed advisers from consultancy KPMG to explore a potential sale, but it is thought no acceptable offers were received.
The retailer, which has about 2500 staff and 300 plus stores in the UK, was formed in 1968.
It has an outlet in Perth’s St John’s Centre.
The card and candle chain is owned by the Weiss family and was previously known as Clinton Cards. Unofficial reports on Sunday said Clintons wanted to close 66 out of 332 shops, with landlords slashing rents on most of the other stores.
A Clintons spokesperson said: “Discussions are continuing with our landlords but no decisions have been made”.
