intu shareholder causes damage at Trafford Centre
Police were called to the Trafford Centre after an angry shareholder caused damage when his demands to speak to management were refused.
The Trafford Centre is owned by property group intu, which has seen its share price collapse in the last year.
Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers had to attend the Trafford Centre to reports of a male causing issues due [to] him losing money after their share price dropped.
“He demanded to speak to management and when told it wasn’t possible proceeded to damage a computer screen at the customer services desk.”
intu’s share price has lost 95% of its value since last July when the retail specialist was valued at more than £1bn.
That was already a crisis for intu, which had been a FTSE 100 company until 2017 and had been the subject of an aborted takeover bid from Hammerson in 2018 which valued intu at £3.4bn.
Last September intu dropped out of the FTSE 250 as its share price continued to plummet.
intu owns 20 shopping centres in the UK and Spain, including Merry Hill in the West Midlands, Lakeside in Essex, and Metrocentre in Gateshead.
intu has owned the Trafford Centre since 2011, when it bought it from the Peel Group.
Peel is now intu’s largest shareholder, with 27%, while John Whittaker still controls 75% of Peel. The Sunday Times Rich List estimates that Whittaker’s personal fortune had fallen by £650m in the last two years.
