John Whittaker resigns from Intu board
The Peel Group chairman has stood down from the board of Trafford Centre owner Intu Properties as part of the administration of the beleaguered retail landlord.
John Whittaker, whose Peel Group holding company owns a 24.6% stake in Intu, resigned along with the other Intu board members as part of the usual process on 26 June, when joint administrators at KPMG were appointed to the company.
The only board member that remains effectively in post is David Hargrave, a former partner at professional services firms PwC and EY who joined Intu as chief restructuring officer in May, tasked with turning around the company after it reported £2bn of annual losses in March.
Intu fell into administration last month after failing to reach an agreement with its lenders to help it pay down its £4.5bn of debt and fix the balance sheet.
The administrators at KPMG are now working with Intu’s management on a strategy to repay creditors and confirm the future of Intu’s portfolio of 17 shopping centres in the UK and two in Europe.
The malls, which include the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester, are continuing to trade as independent entities outside of the administration process.
However, a sale of some or all the assets is one option being considered by KPMG.
Peel Group declined to comment on Whittaker’s resignation from the board.
The company, whose offices are located within the Trafford Centre, told Place North West last week it would suffer no financial impact from Intu’s administration, despite its significant shareholding in the firm.
