Does anyone know why the shares have fallen today despite Christmas coming, past year's increased trading and new stores opened?

If you read the detail, this looks like a very sharp move by American Greetings go for vertical integration and get a cheap football in the UK retail space. Clintons and their shareholders have been done over.

AG approach RBS, read covenants, realise it's a good way to pick them up on the cheap. RBS are happy to offload debt, AG but debt and force administration.

Next move AG approach administrators to 'save' business.

Very smart move, ethical way to do business? Not so sure. BUt then maybe they shouldn't have carried that debt?

Frankly I'm surprised it's legal.... but what do I know?
If you buy the debt, presumably you expect it will be repiad at the same rate/term as originally set out. Otherwise any good business could be ruined by calling-in an agreed loan on a whim at any inconvenient moment.

Isn't this the same - the new owner of the debt is ratting on the Terms, for their own adjenda..... seems to me Clinton should go to Court and insist the Terms are adhered top or face a penalty (for example the repayment at a low-ratio, like 1p/£ since this is an aggravated calling).
Clearly the new owner (of the CC debt) has never had any intention of letting the debt run its course.

All large companies have some debt, usually it's to tide them over and is repaid on a regular basis. Then there is L-T debt, where new infrastructure (like an factory) is required abd the terms are agree, maybe being repaid over 25 years as suits both parties. I suspect, but don't know, that CC had to raise money to perform a retail restructure and that this would have come good when the Ecomony returns . . . . naturally, I shall be walking into every Carlton Card shop wherever I see them in the UK....buying my fill of their cards almost without a thought.

Another one bites the dust.

..Clinton Cards axes 2,800 jobs

By Harry Wallop | Telegraph – 51 minutes ago


......
Nearly 3,000 Clinton Cards (LSE: CC.L - news) employees are to lose their jobs over the next two weeks, the administrator of the stricken retailer has warned.

By the start of June about 350 of the 784 shops run by Clinton Cards will be shut, affecting 2,800 full-time and part-time employees.

There was a hope that the greetings card company would continue to trade more or less unaffected, as the administrator sought a buyer for all or parts of the business. However,

Peter Saville, joint administrator and partner at Zolfo Cooper said: “Given the sheer size of the Clinton Cards retail estate and the overall performance, we were left with no alternative to today’s difficult decision. I am hopeful that the action we have taken will allow us to preserve value in the core underlying business, thereby allowing us and potential buyers to focus on a profitable and viable retail estate going forward.”

The axed shops include all of the 150 Birthdays retail outlets, and about 200 Clinton branded shops.

The company collapsed earlier this month, unable to pay its annual rental bill of £80m and estimated debts of about £100m.

The plug was pulled when its chief supplier, American Greetings, who was already owed £25m for unpaid stock, bought £35m of Clinton’s debt from the banks.

It then immediately called in the debt, triggering the administration.

The supplier is a possible bidder, alongside WHSmith and rival Card Factory.

..

Surprise, surprise. We've been robbed!

Clinton Cards sold to US firm American Greetings

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18356057

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