* Intu says likely to appoint administrators
* Could not reach agreement on debt standstill
* Shares collapse nearly 40% to record low
(Adds detail from statement, shares, background)
By Yadarisa Shabong
June 26 (Reuters) - One of Britain's biggest mall owners
Intu has failed to reach a debt standstill deal with
its creditors, it said on Friday, raising the possibility it
will go into administration with the closure of some of its
shopping centres.
The owner of Manchester's Trafford Centre and Lakeside in
Essex had lined up KPMG as administrator in the event it could
not reach a deal before Friday's deadline.
Its London-listed shares slumped nearly 40% to a record low
of 2.38 pence, valuing the company at around 32 million pounds.
While Intu, which employs around 2,600 staff and has
hundreds of retailers in its centres that get millions of
visitors a year, was concerned about its financial prospects
earlier this year, it would be among the first high profile
victims in the property sector from the pandemic slowdown.
With net debt of around 4.69 billion pounds last year, the
debt waiver Intu secured in early-May expired on Friday,
triggering a breach.
"The Board is therefore considering the position of Intu
with a view to protecting the interests of its stakeholders," it
said, adding that it is likely to involve the appointment of
administrators.
The company began talks with creditors in May and it had
said the main sticking points of the discussions were the
duration of a standstill, how much creditors would share in any
future recovery and funding.
"Unfortunately, insufficient alignment and agreement has
been achieved on such terms," it said.
In recent years, Intu has been hit by company voluntary
agreements from brands including Debenhams, Toys R Us, House of
Fraser and HMV.
The pandemic has put a further stress on its finances as
rental payments collapsed due to the lockdown that forced
retailers to shut stores for nearly three months.
Intu's lenders include Bank of America, HSBC, Barclays,
Credit Suisse, Lloyds, Natwest and UBS.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva and Uttaresh.V; editing by David Evans)
Hammerson (HMSO)
