MAULING FOR MALL OWNER

A major shopping centre owner has slashed the value of its property empire by another £300million.

Intu, which runs Manchester’s Trafford and Arndale malls, and Lakeside in Essex, blamed “negative investor sentiment” towards the retail sector. The firm, which has 17 centres, responded by earmarking excess land for homes.

Intu said its six biggest out-of-town centres cover 760 acres, but only 40% of it is used for shops and car parks. That leaves the potential to use land to build around 5,000 houses, as well as hotels.

Intu, whose other sites include the Metrocentre in Gateshead, is considering a £2.9billion takeover approach from a consortium led by billionaire John Whittaker. Yesterday’s 3% property markdown to £9.6billion comes after a 5.6% writedown earlier in the year. It has also been hit by the collapse of chains, including Coast, and cash owed by House of Fraser.

But Intu insisted it was navigating the high street downturn better than many, with 84 long-term leases signed since July. The number of shops filled increased to 97% in September. Russ Mould, of AJ Bell, said: “This looks like a reasonably resilient performance given pressures on the retail sector.”