Scottish shopping centre owner falls into administration

The owner of the 200,000 sq ft Antonine Shopping Centre in Cumbernauld, Scotland, has collapsed into administration. Administrators at Azets have been appointed to take control of mall owner Bridges Antonine following “a period of creditor pressure”. Azets partners James Fennessey, Colin Haig and Matthew Richards will work with the management team and property agents to achieve a sale of the centre. The mall, built in 2007, comprises 42 stores and nearly 1,100 car parking spaces. TK Maxx, Next and TJ Hughes are the anchor tenants at the centre, which also counts other high street retailers, specialist shops and cafés among its line-up. Annual footfall stands at more than 3.5m visitors. The administrators said that all centre management employees will be retained following their appointment. James Fennessey, restructuring partner at Azets, said: “The Antonine Shopping Centre is one of Scotland’s leading regional shopping centres, with a range of high-quality tenants and a very strong brand name across central Scotland. The centre attracts a very high level of footfall. “The contribution of the Antonine Shopping Centre to the economy of central Scotland is significant, and the centre is as much a social hub and focal point for the region as it is a retail centre. We would encourage interested parties to contact the administrators as soon as possible as we are keen to try and find a buyer promptly.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Discover which agents have been most active in the Scottish retail market so far this year >> Photo courtesy of Spinneys