Tycoon plots bid for £2bn shopping centre empire

Billionaire eyes deal to take Intu private after slump in share price

BILLIONAIRE property investor John Whittaker is planning a swoop on shopping centre owner Intu.

The 76-year- old tycoon, who is deputy chairman of Intu and has a stake of around 27pc through his firm Peel Group, has joined forces with Brookfield Property Group of Canada and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group to plot a takeover.

The move comes as High Streets and shopping centres across Britain fight fierce online competition from the likes of Amazon.

Intu, which is valued at £2bn having seen its shares fall more than 40pc this year, owns 14 shopping centres including the Trafford Centre ( pictured) in Greater Manchester, Lakeside in Essex and Eldon Square in Newcastle.

It bought the Trafford Centre from Peel in 2011 in a deal that was valued at £1.6bn and handed Peel a stake in the company and Whittaker a seat on the board.

The consortium of Peel, Brookfield and Olayan said it was ‘ in the preliminary stages of considering a possible cash offer’ for the Intu shares it does not own.

Olayan has a 2.6pc stake, taking the total holding of the consortium to close to 30pc.

A formal bid would probably be a lifeline for Intu which fell to a £503m loss in the first half of 2018. Shareholders are still reeling from the collapse of a proposed takeover by rival Hammerson early this year.

The tie-up would have created a titan with 43 shopping centres and 37 retail parks and other outlets worth nearly £21bn.

But Hammerson walked away due to shareholder opposition. The disastrous attempt saw Intu boss David Fischel, 60, step down after 33 years at the company.

A City source said Intu’s declining finances meant it is likely to accept a sensible offer. ‘Whittaker has put a lot of money into Intu, but the share price has kept heading down. It wouldn’t surprise me if he accepted a reasonable offer,’ the source said.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘ Investors have been worried that Intu’s assets are not worth as much as the accountants say, because of the decline of bricks and mortar retail in the digital age.

‘But others such as Next have made clear they still think these properties have value and can be a shop window for the brand. This move appears to show someone else is saying that as well.’

Brookfield, Olayan and Peel now have until 5pm on November 1 to make a bid. ‘Consideration of the possible offer is at a preliminary and exploratory stage and no approach has been made to the board of Intu,’ the consortium said. ‘There can be no certainty any transaction will be forthcoming, nor can there be any certainty as to the terms.’