A pensions group that took control of the Trafford Centre when owner Intu collapsed on Friday hopes to secure a speedy sale of the trophy mall.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which rejected a 15-month debt standstill for Intu, believes there will be sufficient interest in the shopping centre to recoup the £250m it lent against the asset, The Sunday Times reported.
A sale of the Trafford Centre would be a litmus test for retail property valuations, which have been hit hard by changing shopping habits and the closure of consumer businesses during the coronavirus lockdown.
Landlords have also been hit by retailers’ inability or refusal to pay rent as the health emergency decimated trade.
Following the appointment of KPMG as administrator, control of Intu’s 17 shopping centres – which include Gateshead’s Metrocentre and Lakeside in Essex – will go to the lenders in each case.
They may seek sales or appoint asset managers to trade the centres on their behalf in the hope that valuations will rise again.
It is thought that potential buyers of the Trafford Centre include property entrepreneur John Whittaker, who sold it to Intu in a shares deal nine years ago.
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