Cash-strapped British shopping centre operator Intu Properties said today it had appointed KPMG to plan for a potential move into administration as it continued talks with creditors on agreeing a debt standstill that would save the company.
Intu owns Manchester's Trafford Centre, Lakeside in Essex and several other properties in Britain and Spain.
It said today's move was a "contingency" and that, in the event, KPMG would need to be funded by interested parties or risk its malls closing.
Sky News, earlier this month, reported that KPMG was looking for £12m in funding to keep some of Intu's best-known centres open during an insolvency process.
With net debt of £4.69 billion and losses of over £2 billion in 2019, the company in March raised doubts about its future without new funding, even before coronavirus shutdowns kicked in across Europe.
It launched discussions on a standstill in May and is seeking to avoid defaulting on loans at the end of this week.
The duration of a standstill, creditors share in any future recovery and funding were the main sticking points, the company said.
