THE JOBS of staff at a Nuneaton store have been saved from the axe.
Clinton Cards in the Market Place is one of 397 stores that have been bought out of administration by American greetings card firm Lakeshore Lending Limited.
The sale of brand and assets to the firm, which is a subsidiary of card maker American Greetings, will save 4,500 jobs in total.
The future of the local employees had been hanging in the balance since Peter Saville, Simon Freakley and Anne O'Keefe, partners in Zolfo Cooper, were appointed Joint Administrators over Clinton Cards Plc at the beginning of last month.
The giant retailer was forced into administration after the company's banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland sold Clinton Cards' £35m of loans to supplier, American Greetings.
Peter Saville, joint administrator, said: "We have always been of the view that despite an intensely competitive retail environment and what proved to be excessively ambitious expansion plans in recent years, there was a strong underlying business contained within Clinton Cards.
"The significant number of credible expressions of interest we received for the business we have sold today, from both trade and financial buyers alike, is testament to this fact.
"We would like to thank the staff for their dedication and patience throughout what has been an understandably difficult time for all concerned and we wish both them and the new owners of the business every success for the future."
The Hinckley branch of Clinton Cards in Castle Street has also been acquired by the Ohio-based card firm and will remain open to customers.
However the countdown to closure for staff at Birthdays in Nuneaton Market Place continues.
An announcement confirmed that the store will cash up tills for the final time the date the doors will shut for good is yet to be revealed.
