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Intu warns it could collapse as losses widen

By Huw Hughes

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Business

British shopping centre giant Intu, which operates Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex, has warned it might collapse after reporting a loss of 2 billion pounds.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the company saw revenues drop 38.8 percent to 542.3 million pounds compared to 581.1 pounds the year before.

Its loss for the year widened to 2.02 billion pounds from 1.17 billion pounds.

Like-for-like rental income fell 9.1 percent.

Commenting on the poor performance, the company cited a higher level of administrations and CVAs in the retail industry, exacerbated by continued weak consumer confidence.

Shopping giant Intu reports 2 billion pound loss

The firm's estimated portfolio value dropped by 22 percent to 6.6 billion pounds.

Intu CEO Matthew Roberts said there was now a “material uncertainty” in relation to its ability to continue as a going concern.

Roberts said: “However we have options including alternative capital structures and further disposals to provide liquidity, and will seek to negotiate covenant waivers where appropriate. These would address potential covenant remedies and the upcoming refinancing activities, with the first material debt maturities in early 2021.”

In January, Intu asked its shareholders for between 1 billion and 1.5 billion pounds in funding to help it fix its balance sheets.

Last week, Intu dropped the plans due to concerns over market uncertainty.

Photo credit: Intu Lakeside

Intu