Pret a Manger can only pay a third of its next rent bills after the coronavirus lockdown made sales decline, it has been reported.
The sandwich company is now struggling to pay its rent after being hit by the lockdown.
Pret - which has most of its branches near offices and airports - is worth £1.5billion.
The company said it will only pay 30 per cent of its rent as it battles losses of "tens of millions of pounds" each month because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a letter to landlords seen by the Financial Times, Pret chief executive Pano Christou, said: "We feel strongly that the Pret brand has every reason to believe it will thrive again, but we are currently in the eye of the storm."
The chief executive added sales were running at less than 20 per cent of normal levels.
He said the company made an effort to reduce its costs - including executive pay cuts - but it did not have enough funds to pay its rent in full.
"The mid to long term remains very unknown for us at Pret," said Mr Christou in the letter.
A leaked video earlier this week suggested the company is preparing to cut jobs, the Daily Mail reports.
Pret, however, has not made any official announcements about cutting jobs.
The sandwich company - which has reopened 320 of its 434 UK stores - has expanded its services online, including click-and-collect options and home delivery through online app Deliveroo.
In April, the sandwich company turned to its banks to ask for €100m in emergency funding after sales went down.
