Shares of Clinton Cards soared 15 percent to an eight month high after it buys 196 of the 332 stores from administrators of Birthdays greeting cards chain for £3.5 million, safeguarding the jobs of 1,450 workers.

But around 750 workers of other 136 Birthdays stores are not lucky enough as the remaining stores are planned to be closed.

Previous month Clinton Cards placed Birthdays into administration, Birthdays' parent company and the Birthdays greeting cards chain appointed Zolfo Cooper as administrator.

Sources informed that Clinton will pay only £250,000 after the remainder was taken off the debt that Birthdays owed to its parent.

Year in year out, Birthdays was losing £7m a year, but last year the stores being purchased by Clinton scored sales of £74m and made an operating profit of £2.7m.

Speaking on the issue, Clinton's commercial director, Barry Hartog said that the company had no regrets about buying Birthdays.

It was in the year of 1979, when Birthdays was founded. Clinton bought Birthdays for £46 million in 2004.