Flight Centre gains access to additional funding to offset COVID-19 impacts

Flight Centre gains access to additional funding to offset COVID-19 impacts
By Travel Weekly


Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) has secured access to a debt facility of up to £65 million ($117.2 million) to help mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its UK operations.

FCTG said in a statement to shareholders that the additional funding will be drawn “as and when required”.

“As announced previously, the funding has been made available to [FCTG] via the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, a program that has been implemented to support short-term liquidity among firms as they work to overcome disruption caused by the virus and the restrictions that are now in place to slow its spread,” the company said.

“The initial notes issued under the facility will mature in March 2021 and should be capable of being extended for a further 12 months through the issue of further notes under the facility.”

The announcement comes not long after FCTG confirmed that up to 1,500 of its sales and support staff are facing redundancy, as the company works to lower its cost base to the targeted level of $65 million per month.

FCTG has also made a number of other big moves in recent months to help keep itself afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the sale of its Melbourne head office property for $62.2 million and the raising of approximately $700 million.

Featured image source: Flickr/Holiday Gems

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