Marston's braces for "significant" sales hit, unlikely to pay dividend

March 18 (Reuters) - Pub operator Marston's said on Wednesday it was now unlikely to recommend an interim dividend and was in discussions to have the option of having debt covenants waived later this year as it prepared for a major hit to sales from the coronavirus shutdown.

Marston's, a two-century old brewer known for its Pedigree, Hobgoblin and Lancaster Bomber beers, said it was unable to quantify the impact from the virus on its financial performance but said it expected to cut its forecasts for fiscal year 2020. (Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)