Bondholders of debt secured against retail property giant Intu are preparing plans that could see them seize the retailer’s key assets as early as June.

Law firm Clifford Chance and investment bank Moelis & Company have been appointed to advise bondholders on the £1.3bn debt pile secured against Intu’s centres including the Victoria Centre in Nottingham and Lakeside in Essex, in a move first reported by property website React News.

The debt against the retail property group’s Braehead centre in Glasgow and Watford centre in Hertfordshire are also included in discussions.

Intu is at risk of breaching covenants on debts held against these assets.

If the property group breaches in covenants at its upcoming June valuation a new manager could be drafted in to oversee these properties.

Intu, which operates 14 shopping centres across the UK, has accumulated £4.5bn worth of debt as retailers struggle to keep up with their rents.

This situation has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent mass store closures. Intu received just 29% of payments due from tenants on quarterly rent day last month, resulting in the property firm warning that it would breach the terms of some of its debt commitments.

The group’s lenders are expected to consider a standstill agreement during the pandemic, for which time covenant breaches would be waived.

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