Whittaker ups Intu stake

PEEL Group chairman John Whittaker spent about £5m last month building his stake in Trafford Centre owner Intu Properties.

He bought nearly 1.5 million shares at around 342p on December 29 through six different companuies.

The trade took his stake to 22.4%.

Mr Whittaker’s Peel Group developed the Trafford Centre in the 1990s but it was sold in a £1.6bn deal to Intu, formerly Capital Shopping Centres, in 2011.

The all-share transaction gave Mr Whittaker a position on the board and a stake in the business which runs around 15 shopping centres.