St David’s shopping centre ‘will remain open’
ST David’s shopping centre will not be closed if its one of its owners Intu goes into administration, co-owner Land Securities has said.
Intu is the biggest shopping centre chain in the UK with 17 outlets, including the Trafford, Braehead and Lakeside shopping centres.
The company says it has been in discussions with key stakeholders since May and is now facing deadline of tomorrow to find new funding.
In case lending talks are not successful, the group says it has appointed KPMG to “contingency plan” for administration.
In a statement, Intu said: “In the event that intu properties plc is unable to reach a standstill, it is likely it and certain other central entities will fall into administration.
“In this situation, all property companies would be required to pre-fund the administrator to provide central services to the shopping centres.
“If the administrator is not pre-funded then there is a risk that centres may have to close for a period.”
But the Cardiff-based
St David’s shopping centre is joint-owned by company Landsec, which says the future of the site is secure.
A spokesperson for Landsec told WalesOnline: “St David’s will remain open as it is operated by Landsec, who jointly own the centre.”
The shopping centre reopened on Monday after being shuttered for nearly three months due to the coronavirus outbreak.
During that time, several shops within St David’s have announced their permanent closure.
Brands Oasis and Warehouse both entered administration on April 15. Administrators later said they had not been successful in securing a rescue deal and all sites would close permanently.
Cath Kidston also announced it would close its flagship store at St David’s, and move to online sales only after being purchased by its parent company Baring Private Equity Asia.