Member Article

Shopping centre operator sees upturn in retailing

Intu, the shopping centre giant behind the likes of the Trafford Centre, the Metrocentre and Eldon Square says its £1 billion development programme has coincided with an upturn in retailing.

In a trading update the firm highlight a 15-month unbroken trend of increasing like-for-like non-food retail sales and say none of their major tenants have succumbed to failure in the final quarter of 2013.

Intu signed 152 leases across the year, producing an additional £33 million in annual rent, and tenants were said to have invested £70 million in their units across the Intu portfolio.

During the period Planning applications have been approved for new restaurants at intu Eldon Square, intu Bromley and intu Victoria Centre and the firm made applications for major leisure and catering extensions at intu Watford and intu Lakeside.

In October Intu acquired Parque Principado, an 800,000 sq. ft. shopping centre in Oviedo, Northern Spain, in a €162 million partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The move forms part of a master plan for Intu to move into Spain where the firm have options on shopping centres under development in Malaga, Vigo and Valencia.

Chief executive David Fischel commented: “We are encouraged by the positive impact of the launch of Intu and our investment in infrastructure and teams. The national scale of our operations is now apparent to retailers, national media partners and local authorities.

“We have continued to drive our £1 billion development programme, with a number of further planning applications submitted, some notable approvals and works underway at several centres.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .