Trafford Centre owner warns it could collapse after losing £2 billion in one year

The future of the Trafford Centre is up in the air, after its owner admitted they lost £2 billion last year.

Its owner warned that the firm could collapse if it can’t secure further funds, with the group failing to reach a financial agreement with a Hong Kong-based investor last month, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Intu Properties includes nine of the country’s top 20 shopping centres in its portfolio, including the Trafford Centre, and has been struggling with the financial hit High Street retailers have faced in recent years.

Eirian Evans / Geograph

It’s estimated that Intu has debts of around £5 billion, while the value of the shopping centres it owns has dropped by £1.9 billion due to a market downturn.

Last year’s loss was added on to another huge loss of £1.2 billion in 2018, due to the collapse of several big retail names.

As a result, yesterday Intu announced there was ‘material uncertainty’ over its ability to continue, however bosses said there were some potential solutions.

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One of these would be ‘alternative capital structures’, as well as selling off assets, or negotiating a covenant waiver to secure breathing space from lenders.

According to reports, Intu’s property portfolio will next be assessed in July, while in the meantime they’ll be speaking to lenders and considering using some of its cash reserves to mitigate the situation – it has around £200m.