The failure of La Senza and Phones 4U has dented UK shopping centre owner Intu Properties, the firm said today.
The administration of both chains took the overall occupancy rate at the Lakeside owner down from 96% to 95% in the four months to November 3, Intu said.
The two stores accounted for 39 shops and 1% of annual rent, although the company “anticipates good demand for these units”.
Intu - formerly Capital Shopping Centres until a rebrand in 2013 - owns outright or part-owns stakes in 18 shopping centres around the country, including nine of the UK’s 20 biggest.
Its total portfolio is valued at £3.1 billion, but the firm is spending £1.2 billion on improving its centres over the next decade.
Its centres see around 400 million visits a year and chief executive David Fischel said footfall for the year to date was 1% higher than for the same period of 2013. This is better than data firm Experian’s measure of national retail footfall, which is slightly negative year on year.
Liberum analyst Michael Burt said Intu’s update “underlines a mixed operating performance”. Shares fell 1.05p to 339.35p.
