Trafford Centre put up for sale after Intu Properties' administration

The Trafford Centre is up for sale.

Intu Properties, which owns 17 UK shopping complexes including Lakeside in Essex in addition to the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester, entered administration in June.

Its joint administrators said: "All parties are working constructively together to maximise value for this highly attractive asset."

Shoppers can still visit the Trafford Centre, which opened in 1998. It last sold for £1.6bn nearly a decade ago.

The administrators declined to comment on the current asking price.

Intu Properties warned in January that it risked defaulting on its debts unless lenders gave them significant breathing space.

Its shopping centres were partially shut during the coronavirus lockdown, with only essential shops allowed to remain open.

The retail property market has been going through "a period of intense structural change", said Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics.

"This hasn't come overnight - this has been a trend that has been developing over the last few years."

He added the impact of Covid-19 had "accelerated many of those trends such as the shift online and the way people are visiting those physical locations".

The sale of the Trafford Centre, which attracts 30 million visitors every year, "boils down to trying to get the best price", Mr Lim explained.

"It's going to be easy to find a buyer but more difficult to find the right price."

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