Three GFG-owned sites in France file for court protection

PARIS, April 20 (Reuters) - The Alvance Aluminium branch of British businessman Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance on Tuesday asked a French court to place three of its sites under administration, a spokesman said.

The hearing followed Alvance Aluminium's decision last week to file for voluntary administration for the factories in central France - Alvance Aluminium Wheels, Alvance Aluminium Poitou and Alvance Foundry Poitou.

"All three businesses have faced structural changes in their markets which have been compounded by COVID-19 and a reduction in working capital support available from GFG Alliance following the collapse of Greensill Capital," an Alvance spokesman said.

The collapse of supply chain finance firm Greensill, a major creditor of GFG, has forced the group to seek new funding.

Greensill was a major source of funding for Gupta as he bought up struggling metals manufacturing facilities in recent years, including several French sites.

The commercial court in Paris that heard Alvance's request was due to issue a decision on Friday detailing the duration of an administration period, Gery Begeault, a CGT union representative at Alvance Aluminium Poitou, said.

Alvance also owns an aluminium smelter in Dunkirk that is Europe's largest primary aluminium production site.

(Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Pratima Desai; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)