Intu equity raise is ‘likely’

Shopping centre landlord intu has said that raising equity is “likely to form part of the solution” in dealing with its liquidity requirements. The landlord has been considering a range of “self-help” measures to fix its balance sheet, including disposals. Its loan-to-value ratio stood at 57.7% in the period from 1 July to 5 November. The company made £21m of asset disposals during the period, which it said were 13% ahead of December 2018 book values. Proceeds from disposals amounted to £33m in the year to date. Intu said that it was in the “advanced stages” of selling two assets in Spain: intu Asturias and intu Puerto Venecia. Although new lettings and rent reviews stayed in positive territory, like-for-like rental income is expected to drop by around 9%, largely driven by CVAs from the likes of Arcadia and Monsoon Accessorize. Matthew Roberts, chief executive of intu, said: “Our number one priority is to fix the balance sheet. We have a clear plan to do this and are working to make material progress over the next six months.” Intu is aiming to generate sufficient liquidity to reduce its debt maturities. Earlier this year, it said a total of £926m was due to be refinanced in 2021. To achieve this, intu said it would aim to sell partial stakes in its wholly owned flagships including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Merry Hill in Birmingham, although Roberts said the REIT needed to refinance the former first. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette