Who would invest in retail property right now? Apart from Mike Ashley of Sports Direct? Or a distressed asset fund? Or a distressed Mike Ashley? Apparently, there is another would-be buyer: European private equity group Orion Capital Managers, which is “exploring a deal” for Intu, owner of the Trafford shopping centre, among several others. A report to that effect in the Sunday Times sent Intu shares up 20 per cent in early Monday trading, lifting its value to £546m. Some evidently saw a bid as a possibility, and had read of Orion’s success with distressed retail assets in Spain — buying into shopping centres and an office landlord’s debt after the financial crisis, then selling at a profit when the market recovered.
Who would invest in retail property right now? Apart from Mike Ashley of Sports Direct? Or a distressed asset fund? Or a distressed Mike Ashley? Apparently, there is another would-be buyer: European private equity group Orion Capital Managers, which is “exploring a deal” for Intu, owner of the Trafford shopping centre, among several others. A report to that effect in the Sunday Times sent Intu shares up 20 per cent in early Monday trading, lifting its value to £546m. Some evidently saw a bid as a possibility, and had read of Orion’s success with distressed retail assets in Spain — buying into shopping centres and an office landlord’s debt after the financial crisis, then selling at a profit when the market recovered.
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