With its deserted tables and recycled office furniture, the Ping Pong Parlour in Maidenhead’s struggling Nicholsons shopping centre is not fooling anyone.
The desperate attempt to fill what used to be Argos is evidence of the losing battle fought by private equity investors who have surrendered the keys after the mall’s declining fortunes left them unable to meet huge loan repayments.
The financial failure of the affluent Berkshire commuter town’s main shopping centre has brought this year’s high street crisis directly on to the embattled prime minister’s doorstep.
