Greggs has accessed £150m in new finances to help see it through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic via the government’s corporate financing scheme.

In a note to the City today, the high street bakery chain said it applied to the Bank of England for £150m of new finances through the government’s Covid-19 corporate financing scheme, which would be “sufficient to meet the company’s liquidity needs” for a prolonged closure period.

The funds are available for 11 months and come on top of the convenience food retailer having “constructive dialogue with our banking partners”.

Greggs also said that it would be looking to furlough workers through the government’s job retention scheme, which would lower its net weekly cash flow from £5m to around £3.5m per week until at least the end of June.

From July onwards, the cost will rise to £4.5m a week, including the cost of rents, which Greggs said it would expect to “pay monthly in advance” in the future.

The retailer said its cash at bank position currently stands at £47m before receipt of the Bank of England funding and despite the uncertainties “we have ensured that Greggs and its many stakeholders will be well-supported through this difficult period”.