Shopping giant Intu has warned it could go bust after its annual report revealed they had £2 billion worth of losses in 2019.

They will now try to raise money after a previous plan to raise £1 billion failed. 

Shopping landlords such as Intu have been left struggling to fill vacant shop spaces amid a crash of High Street retailers. 
During this time, Intu has raked up debts of nearly £5 billion. 

Intu stated in their annual report: "In the short term, fixing the balance sheet is our top priority.

"The notes accompanying these financial statements indicate a material however we have options including alternative capital structures and further disposals to provide liquidity, and will seek to negotiate covenant waivers where appropriate.

"These would address potential covenant remedies and the upcoming refinancing activities, with the first material debt maturities in early 2021.

The Chief Executive, Matthew Roberts said: "The right stores in the right locations will always play a vital role for retailers but, with all the recent commentary around the death of the store, you could believe that no one will be going shopping in the future.

"Two statistics from recent research by CACI illustrate the importance of the store. First, around 90% of all retail spend is influenced by a physical store, and second, the presence of a physical store can double a retailer's online sales in that local catchment.

Intu announced last week that they would consider selling more of their properties after they failed to secure £1 billion in funding from investors including Hong-Kong based Link Real State Investment Trust. 

The Chief Executive states in the annual report that although there has been a crash of High Street retailers, there will still be a demand for the public to buy at shopping centres.

He said: "If we look ahead to 2026, research carried out by CACI and Revo suggests that 77 per cent of transactions will still touch a store, even with the overall percentage of online sales increasing from around 20 per cent to 30 per cent. 

"If this is considered with the expectation that overall store numbers in the UK will decrease,there will be continued demand from brands for high-quality, high-footfall locations where they can maximise their productivity and profitability.

"As the role of the store changes, then the relationship with our retail customers will change too.

"In a world where it is harder for retailers to increase profits, our centres offer them the best opportunity and many, such as Next, Primark and JD Sports, are thriving.

"But we cannot stand still, and as we have always done, we will focus on placemaking, curating our space to ensure it remains the place visitors love to be."