Bakery chain Greggs is negotiating rent reductions with landlords as it prepares to move to monthly rents, and has suspended its new shop openings.
The company will reopen 800 of its shops on Thursday, having closed all outlets during the coronavirus lockdown. It expects to reopen the rest of the estate in early July.
“We have reviewed our existing estate and are approaching landlords making a variety of proposals in return for rent reductions,” Greggs said in a stock market update. “All landlords have been informed of our plan to move to monthly rent payments from June. We made our full quarterly rent payment in March as usual.”
The company said it had “temporarily suspended” new openings other than “a few shops” it was legally committed to or at which it expects a high number of customers. Over this year, it expects to open 60 new shops and close 50.
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