Mike Ashley said to threaten closing all Intu stores in rent row
Intu Properties was in the red on Monday following a report over the weekend that Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has threatened to shut all of his stores in Intu shopping centres in a row over new rent terms for House of Fraser sites.
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According to the Sunday Times, Ashley will shut 17 stores - a mix of Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Flannels, USC and Evans Cycles - once leases reach a break clause or expire. Ashley reckons this will cost more than £25m a year in lost rent and service charges.
The Sunday Times cited a source close to Ashley as saying that he would be able to get out of Intu's lease agreements after 18 months on average. Intu’s rental income was £460m last year.
Liberum said: "This represents further unhelpful news ahead of a potential bid for Intu with the deadline now extended to 5pm on 30 November."
Intu is currently waiting to see if a bid is forthcoming from a consortium led by it largest shareholder, John Whittaker, after the deadline was extended three times.
At 0905 GMT, the shares were down 1.6% to 187.39p.