Shopping centre giant Intu has threatened to take 'robust action' against tenants who have not paid their bills - after only receiving 40 per cent of all the rent and service charge due for the first quarter of the year.
The cash-strapped company - which owns or part-owns 17 centres including The Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester, Merry Hill in Dudley and the Potteries Shopping Centre in Stoke-on-Trent - claims the outstanding bills were due by the end of March.
It follows a move by the firm to offer monthly, rather than quarterly rent collection, after most tenants were forced to close their doors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now it has hit out at a 'very small' number of 'large, well-capitalised brands' who they claim 'have the ability to pay but have chosen not to.'
A spokesman for Intu said: "There are a very small number of cases where customers are not currently engaging with us to find a consensual solution – these are large, well-capitalised brands who have the ability to pay but have chosen not to.
"In these instances we are prepared to take more robust action to enforce the legally binding terms of those leases."
Last month, BusinessLive reported how Intu warned that it could go out of business after seeing a £2bn loss.
The owner of the Gateshead Metrocentre and the intu Derby Shopping Centre also saw its revenues fall by £38.8m during 2019.
