Market wrap: intu sinks with administrators on standby

Having risen over the past week as store reopenings loom, shares in intu sunk by more than a fifth today.  The plunge followed weekend news reports that the landlord has administrators from KPMG on hand in the event that it is unable to negotiate covenant waivers from its bankers. The REIT’s shares finished trading at 7.24p, down 21.8%. As news broke of an earlier-than-expected reopening for pubs and cafes, several listed pub owners and other leisure companies benefited from a stock market boost. These included Marston’s, up 8.3% at 73.35p, a fresh lockdown high; and Mitchells & Butlers, which rose by 6.3% to 227p, also its highest price since its pubs and restaurants were forced to shut. Cineworld too hit a three-month high, finishing trading up 8.1% at 99.44p. The FTSE 100 finished the day at 6,472, a drop of 0.2% or 12 points. The FTSE 250 was down 0.5%, or 92 points, at 18.136. To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette