Fast food giant Pret a Manger is reportedly in talks for emergency funding amid hundreds of store closures due to lockdown measures.
The company is in discussions for a €100million emergency loan from global banks as part of measures to make up for lost sales once stores reopen after the coronavirus crisis, according to the Financial Times.
The move comes as the restaurant industry deals with historic disruption from the pandemic, which has already seen restaurant chains Carluccio's and Chiquito file for administration.
"As a business coming out of this, we might look different, possibly smaller. I wish I could tell you in six months what size of Pret will be. What I can tell you is that Pret will still be there," Pret chief executive Pano Christou told the publisher.
The company, which operates more than 500 sites in the UK, reportedly has enough cash to see it through the current lockdown but requires funding for a "test and learn stage" to develop new systems and products for after the virus.
Mirror Money has approached Pret a Manger for a comment.
Last week the food chain opened 10 branches to help cater for NHS workers near major hospitals.
On Thursday, it launched on the takeaway platforms UberEats and Just Eat in addition to its existing deal with Deliveroo, where it has begun selling takeaway sandwiches and boxes of produce for the first time.
