Pret a Manger scraps dividend as Covid closures hit sales

Coffee shop chain says it is still too early to know the full impact of the pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePret a Manger has ditched its dividend payment to shareholders and warned of “material uncertainties” over whether it can continue as a going concern, saying it was still too early to know the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on business.Shareholders in the coffee shop chain, which permanently closed 74 outlets in the UK last year and 22 in the US, pumped in £185m of additional funding in February and put a further £100m on standby in March as its city centre outlets suffered from the absence of commuters and tourists. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/23/pret-a-manger-dividend-covid-closures-sales-pandemic #pret_a_manger #food_&_drink_industry #business #coronavirus #uk_news