Intu CEO Matthew Roberts steps down

Intu CEO Matthew Roberts has stepped down a week after the British shopping centre operator fell into administration.

The company, which operates Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex, announced at the end of June that it had appointed accountancy firm KPMG as administrator after Intu’s crunch talks with lenders failed.

Roberts has since informed staff he is stepping down following his appointment to the role in April 2019. Prior to his promotion to CEO, Roberts held the position of chief financial officer at Intu since May 2010.

Intu’s shares listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges were suspended when it fell into administration, but for now its 17 UK shopping centres are continuing to trade.

The company had been in crunch talks to reach a standstill agreement with lenders but they ultimately failed after “insufficient alignment and agreement” were achieved on terms of the deal.

Intu CEO exits

The company’s debt problems were compounded in recent months by the Covid-19 pandemic and the forced closure of its centres. In June, Intu said it expected to collect 310 million pounds in rent in 2020, 181.6 million pounds less than what it collected for 2019.

According to cloud-based commercial property management platform Re-Leased, just 13.8 percent of retail property rents were paid for the quarter rent day at the end of June, compared to 19.8 percent paid for the previous quarter rent day in March.

Just 13.8 percent of retail property rents were paid for this week’s quarter rent day, compared to 19.8 percent paid for the previous quarter rent day in March. That’s according to analysis by cloud-based commercial property management platform Re-Leased.

British property group Hammerson announced last week it collected just 13 percent of rent owed across its UK destinations for the third quarter.

Photo: Matthew Roberts. Courtesy of Intu