Intu collapses into administration

Intu has officially called in administrators, after weeks of speculation that the group was on the brink of collapse. 

The retail property giant issued a statement this morning stating that it was “likely” that the group would appoint administrators, after admitting that it had so far failed in reaching standstill agreements with landlords.

Further to its earlier announcement, Intu confirmed that James Robert Tucker, Michael Robert Pink and David John Pike of KPMG are to be appointed as joint administrators for the group. 

Their appointment is expected to “become effective shortly”.

Their shopping centres will continue to trade under KPMG, however, with operating companies “remaining unaffected”.

Earlier this week, Intu provided an update on discussions with key stakeholders to progress its standstill strategy ahead of the revolving credit facility covenant waiver expiry at 11:59 p.m. this evening (Friday 26 June 2020).

Since that update, however, it confirmed that discussions had continued with its creditors in relation to the terms of standstill-based agreements, but “insufficient alignment and agreement” had been achieved.

It added: “The board is therefore considering the position of Intu with a view to protecting the interests of its stakeholders. This is likely to involve the appointment of administrators.”

Earlier this year, Intu revealed it wrote down the value of its shopping centres by £1.9bn after a number of retailers that occupy space at its centres entered administration or issued CVAs. It also revealed that like-for like rental income decreased by 9.1% compared to the previous year.