The owner of the Trafford Centre revealed losses for last year swelled to £2bn as the value of its shopping centres was revaluation down.
Losses at Intu grew by 72% as the group revalued its property portfolio down by £1.98bn, with a like-for-like reduction of 22.3% over the year and 33% from the peak in December 2017.
The market value of Intu’s investment and development property was calculated to be £6.6bn at the year-end, down from £9.2bn over the 12 months, while its net debt stood at £4.5bn.
Revenue in 2019 was 6.7% lower than the previous year, as like-for-like net rental income fell 9.1%.
Chief executive Matthew Roberts, who took over last April and soon launched a five-year strategy, issued a rallying cry for the retail sector, saying “the store is not dying, it is evolving”, noting that around 90% of all retail spend is still ‘influenced’ by a physical store.
