British baker Greggs taps government finance to get through coronavirus crisis

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) - British baker Greggs <GRG.L>, whose shops have been shuttered by the coronavirus emergency, has secured credit from a government support scheme to meet its liquidity needs for a prolonged closure period, it said on Thursday.

The company said it now had sufficient available credit to cover a scenario where its shops were unable to trade for the rest of the year.

Greggs has so far issued 150 million pounds ($186 million) of commercial paper with a duration of 11 months under the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

The firm said that while its 2,050 retail outlets are shut its net cash outflow would be about 3.5 million pounds per week until the end of June and 4.5 million pounds from July.

Greggs had cash of 47 million pounds before receipt of the CCFF funding.

"Whilst many uncertainties remain, we have ensured that Greggs and its many stakeholders will be well supported through this difficult period and that the company will be in a position to return to profitable growth as soon as conditions allow," it added.

Shares in Greggs were down 4.8% at 1209 GMT, extending their loss for 2020 to 23%.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Catherine Evans and David Holmes)