The UK’s biggest shopping centres owner Intu expanded its empire today, snapping up a Milton Keyenes property as it shrugged off a year of falling rents and visitors to its centres.
Intu Properties, formerly known as Capital Shopping Centres, already owns 14 shopping centres including Thurrock’s Lakeside and Bromley’s Glades. It spent £250.5 million on Milton Keynes’ Midsummer Place as it sought to plug a gap in its regional portfolio, tapping markets for the cash with a major share placing.
The firm — spending £25 million on rebranding all its centres under the “intu” moniker, launching free Wi-Fi for shoppers and investing £1 billion in its centres over the next ten years — saw the value of its £7 billion portfolio edge higher last year.
But squeezed consumer wallets are still hitting home. Intu’s net rental income dipped 2.7% last year as the firm bore the brunt of retail failures such as La Senza and Game, while customer footfall at its centres fell for the first time in three years. Chief executive David Fischel, who stressed the company is still outperforming the industry, said occupancy remained high at 96% as the firm managed to relet most of the vacant units. “In this economic climate tenant failures are part and parcel of the business,” he added.
Intu still managed to sign up 139 retailers and 30 restaurants on long-term leases last year. The firm is looking to attract more caters as encourage shoppers to stay longer.
