// Intu deputy chairman and non-executive director John Whittaker has resigned
// Intu fell into administration in late June
// The shopping centre landlord operates 17 shopping centres
Intu deputy chairman and non-executive director John Whittaker has reportedly stepped down following the property giant’s administration.
All of the company’s non-executive directors also resigned, except David Hargrave – who was hired as chief restructuring officer of the business in May.
Whittaker, who is chairman of the Peel Group, has not been attending board meetings for the last three to four months, Property Week reported.
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Whittaker received a 25 per cent stake in Intu and a seat on the board after selling the Trafford Centre in Manchester in 2011 to Intu.
Intu officially collapsed into administration on June 26 after crunch talks with its lenders were unsuccessful.
The shopping centre giant applied to appoint James Robert Tucker, Michael Robert Pink and David John Pike of KPMG as joint administrators.
The confirmation came after Intu warned that it was on the verge of collapse – after the London Stock Exchange suspended shares in the listed firm.
The group has struggled under a £4.5 billion debt burden for the past year, but has been hammered by significantly lower rent payments from retail tenants since the coronavirus outbreak.
KPMG also previously warned creditors they would need to provide £12 million to cover the administration process.
Moreover, Intu chief executive Matthew Roberts stepped down a week after the company collapsed into administration.
Employees were informed by KPMG of Roberts’ decision to leave the role he had held since April last year.
Intu employs about 3000 staff across the UK while a further 102,000 work for the shops within its 17 shopping centres in the country.
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