Big retail in freefall

This item isn’t about Macclesfield per se but has relevance for us all – especially those that continually clamoured for a retail-led redevelopment of Macclesfield town centre – and the East Cheshire councillors and planning officers who denigrated those opposing the schemes as ‘naysayers’ and luddites!

Shares in Intu – the firm which owns the Trafford Centre and the Arndale Centre – have fallen by 43 per cent to an all-time low and Intu is fighting for survival with a debt mountain of £5bn.

The company has endured a shocking year with the value of shares falling by more than 90% over last 12 months.

Shares were recently trading at just 7.6p, giving the embattled company a market value of a little more than £100m.

Intu has warned that it might struggle to pay creditors this summer and is looking at selling of some of its assets to keep the business afloat.

According to Neil Wilson the chief market analyst at Markets.com: “No one wants a piece of shopping malls – no real surprise, the current financial market conditions are hardly helpful either. Wrong business, wrong time,” Wilson said.

Analysts at Liberum said: “July 2020 becomes the next key testing date for if breached, we expect banks will start taking control with further negative implications on larger UK shopping centre values, unless mitigating actions can be taken.”

Editor: If Macclesfield had gone ahead with any of the ludicrously bad redevelopment schemes – all of which ilovemacc strongly opposed – we would now be paying heavily for it.