Beleaguered shopping centre operator Intu has put KPMG on standby ahead of a fortnight of negotiations with lenders.

The retail property titan, whose centres include Manchester’s Trafford Centre and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, is lining up KPMG to handle an insolvency process if its lenders do not grant a standstill agreement on its £4.5bn debt pile.

According to Sky News, the development was agreed by Intu’s board late last week as the business drove its contingency planning in the event that negotiations with lenders fail.

Intu, which has more than 2,000 direct employees and around 30,000 employees across its broader supply chain, would almost certainly collapse into administration if it does not work out alternative arrangements with landlords by June 26, when current waivers expire.

The retail property group has requested a standstill on covenant tests and debt repayments until the end of next year.

These negotiations are taking place amid Intu’s forecasts that it will collect just £310m of rent on its next quarterly rent day later this month, compared with £491.6m for the same period last year.

The shopping centre operator received less than a third of expected rent for its March quarter.

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