Greggs to close entire store estate in response to coronavirus pandemic

Greggs said it will continue to provide support to local communities by distributing any remaining unsold food, and offering support for those in hardship through the Greggs Foundation.

In a statement for investors, Greggs said: "Greggs is a great business that employs over 25,000 people, and prides itself on the way that it deals with the many stakeholders we rely on in order to make good freshly prepared food available across the UK.

"However, given the current and likely impacts of coronavirus we are now planning for the closure of our shop estate by close of business on Tuesday 24 March in order to protect our people and customers. "

The statement added: "Greggs has acted quickly to follow Government guidelines, helping to prevent the spread of the virus in our shops and supply chain.

"In addition to increased hygiene and separation measures we converted all of our shops to provide a solely take-away service accepting card payments only and have been advising all customers to follow social distancing guidelines while waiting to be served. It is now clear that to protect our people and customers we need to go further and temporarily close our shops completely. During this period, with support from the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, we intend to maintain employment of colleagues at full contract hours for as long as is practicable.

"Whilst our shops will be closed for a period Greggs will continue to provide support to our local communities by distributing any remaining unsold food, and offering support for those in hardship through the Greggs Foundation."

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