The Trafford Centre has a new owner after Intu collapsed into administration earlier this year due to £5bn of debt.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has acquired ownership of the site after the centre was devastated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after the centre failed to find an alternative buyer, .
In 2017, Toronto-based CPPIB provided a £250million loan to previous owner Intu, secured against its prime asset.
It comes after Intu collapsed into administration under the weight of debt back in June.
The shopping centre giant was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with many of its retail tenants going bust or unable to pay their rent.
The value of shopping centres has also fallen dramatically against the backdrop of consumers' increasing preference for online retail.
As one of Intu's biggest creditors,
Most Read
Last month, it was announced that Manchester-based CBRE Group and international firm Savills had been appointed 'to manage the centre and day to day operations'.
And now CPPIB, through its wholly owned subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc (CPPIB Credit), has acquired sole ownership of the Trafford Centre.
Don't miss a thing - sign up for your free North West newsletter - and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the North West- and you can stay in touch with all the latest news from Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive daily morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
For all the latest stories, views, polls and more - and the news as it breaks - .
In a press release, the company said: "In June 2020, intu was placed into administration and a sale process was initiated for the Trafford Centre, however no viable bids were received.
"As the principal secured creditor of ITCG with security over the equity interest in the Trafford Centre, in the absence of alternative sources of funding and the unsuccessful sale process, CPPIB Credit has exercised its rights to acquire the shares in ITCG and the ownership of the Trafford Centre."
As the M.E.N reported last month, CPPIB is taking on a shopping centre that lost an eye-watering £704m in 2019, according to its latest accounts.
But the new owners remain upbeat about its long-term prospects.
Don’t miss
"The Trafford Centre is one of the U.K.’s top five shopping centres, welcoming more than 30 million shoppers annually, and counts many leading global retailers among its occupiers," Geoff Souter, Managing Director, Head of Real Assets Credit, CPPIB Credit said.
"While conditions for retail in 2020 have been very challenging, we are able to take a long-term view and believe that, with strategic management and investment, the Trafford Centre has strong prospects.
"An immediate priority is to support the Trafford Centre’s management, ensuring continued optimal operation of the Trafford Centre, and to appoint a long-term expert operating partner."
As part of its new ownership plan, CPPIB says it will also 'evaluate the Trafford Centre’s complex capital structure to ensure it supports the return to long-term viability.'
CPP Investments is a well-established investor in 海角视频 shopping centres.
It also has investments in London’s Westfield Stratford, Birmingham’s Bullring and Grand Central.