Intu

Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc and later Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group plc after demerging its Capital & Counties Properties business unit to form an independent business. The company adopted the Intu name on 18 February 2013, and this was followed by the rebranding of most of its shopping centres under the Intu title from May 2013.

The company's shares were listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges until it entered administration in June 2020. The company owned or part-owned 17 shopping centres in the UK and one in Spain prior to entering administration.

History

The company was established by Sir Donald Gordon in 1980 under the name Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc as an offshoot of Liberty Life Association of Africa, a business he had founded in 1957.[2] The company developed into a leading investor in life assurance businesses in the 1980s and divested its remaining life assurance interests (a 29% holding in Sun Life

Rebrand as Intu

In January 2013, CSC announced its rebranding as Intu and the renaming of twelve of its shopping centres to incorporate the new consumer-facing brand.[10][11] A new orange and black brand identity was introduced at the same time, including a bird logo said to represent a "symbol of joy".[12] At the same time and in response to changing consumer behaviour, Intu launched the UK's first online shopping centre and insourced all shopping centre staff, previously employed by facilities management company Bilfinger Europa.[13]

2013 to 2019

The company announced on 27 February 2013 that it had agreed to purchase Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes from Legal & General for £250.5 million. The sale was completed by the end of March 2013.[14]

In March 2014, Intu announced that it had purchased the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and Westfield Derby for a £867.8m property deal that saw Intu take complete ownership of Westfield's Derby shopping centre and Sprucefield Park in Northern Ireland.[15]

In December 2017, the company agreed to a takeover by property development company Hammerson for £3.4 billion, subject to shareholder approval.[16] In April 2018, Hammerson recommended that its shareholders reject the proposed takeover.[17] With Intu hit by declining footfall on the high street and failures among major retailers, Peel Group, Olayan Group, and Brookfield Property launched a £2.8bn takeover bid in October, but, after due diligence procedures, they withdrew the offer in November 2018.[18]

In November 2019, Intu said it was in talks to sell three Spanish shopping centres: Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, intu Asturias in Oviedo, and intu Xanadu in Madrid. In December 2019, it sold its share in the Zaragoza asset for €237.7 million,[19] delivering net proceeds of around €115m.[20] The following month it sold its Oviedo asset, raising around €85 million.[21]

2020 demise

In March 2020, Intu abandoned a £1.3 billion emergency cash call as not enough investors were willing to support the call. The company had £4.5 billion of debt.[22] The company subsequently warned that it could collapse if unable to raise further funds, after reporting a loss of £2bn for 2019. Intu shares had lost almost 90% of their value in a year, and the results announcement prompted a 25% drop to just over 4p.[23] On 26 March, as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more retailers to delay rent payments to Intu, the company warned that it would need some waivers from its lenders and was likely to breach its debt covenants in July; its shares fell 11% to 3.6p in the first hour of trading following the warning.[24] On 23 June, the company warned that shopping centres might close if financial restructuring talks with lenders failed, and lined up KPMG as administrators as a "contingency".[25] On 26 June, Intu went into administration.[26]

type	Public limited company
former name	Liberty International plc Capital Shopping Centres Group plc
trade name	Intu Group
industry	Property
fate	Administration then closure
successor	Intu SGS
foundation	1980 (as Liberty International)
founder	Donald Gordon
defunct	June 26, 2020
location	London, United Kingdom
area served	United Kingdom, Spain
key people	John Strachan (Chairman) John Whittaker (former Deputy Chairman) Matthew Roberts (former Chief Executive Officer)
products	Investment and development of shopping centres and other commercial property
revenue	£542.3 million (2019)‡R1R‡
operating income	£(1,542.7) million (2019)‡R1R‡
net income	£0 (2020)‡R1R‡
divisions	Intu List of Properties
subsid	Intu SGS

History

Rebrand as Intu

2013 to 2019

2020 demise

Properties

External links

References