Intu Properties to tap shareholders amid pressure on UK retail sales

JSE listed UK mall owner Intu Properties, whose share price reached a record low earlier in January, said on Monday it was now targeting an equity raise in February as it seeks to shore up a balance sheet that has been battered by weak retail conditions in the UK.

The company did not give details as to how much money it wants to raise, but has been selling off assets as it grapples with a debt pile that stood at almost £5bn (R90bn) at the end of June.

Intu, whose market capitalisation stood at R5.8bn on Monday morning, has seen its share price decline about 93% since UK voters decided to leave the EU in June 2016.

Intu said on Monday it was engaged with investors and shareholders regarding a new equity raise.

The company said in July it would dispose of various assets to shore up its balance sheet and improve short-term liquidity. It reported then that net rental income in the six months to end-June fell 17.9%.

The company disposed of assets of almost £500m in 2019, saying in December it had reached an agreement to sell its Spanish shopping centre for €475.3m (R7.4bn). The centre was joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Intu's share of the sale was €238m.

In morning trade on Monday Intu's share price was up 2.35% to R4.36. The company's share price has fallen 30.35% so far in 2020, including a 14.89% fall on January 9, when the British Retail Consortium said 2019 was the worst year for UK retail sales on record.

Intu CEO Matthew Roberts said on Monday the company had delivered a “robust  operational performance” in 2019, with total footfall for the year rising 0.3% compared to 2018. The UK's footfall was flat, but this was an outperformance compared to the Springboard footfall monitor for shopping centres, he said.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za