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Trafford Centre entrance. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Getting ‘intu’ John Whittaker’s mind: “like a holiday in crazyland”

16th July 202016th July 2020 BisNow

This is a difficult moment for Intu’s chief shareholder, John Whittaker. Whittaker, who built the Trafford Centre, now faces some unenviable choices as the main Intu corporate vehicle confronts administration. Whittaker has seen shares in the company once worth hundreds of millions of pounds go to zero. Bisnow reflects on what options he has, and what he might be thinking. How Very Dare They The Trafford Centre, now valued at around £1.5B, was a very personal project for Whittaker, as a 2012 interview with Property Week revealed. The centre is…

UK government has advised the public to stay away from pubs (Flickr)

Can UK landlords help struggling leisure tenants?

23rd March 202023rd March 2020 BisNow

Last weekend, Anthony Lorenz’s phone was ringing off the hook. Client after client was calling the London-based veteran tenant rep advisor, all with the same problem. Revenue had fallen off a cliff, cash flow was tight and on 25 March the quarterly rent was falling due. “I had clients I hadn’t spoken to for two years, ringing out of the blue, asking for help talking to their landlord,” the managing director of The Lorenz Consultancy said. “We act for some of the biggest clubs, bars and restaurants in the West…