The Trafford Centre has been seized by Canada’s biggest pension fund after failing to find a buyer.
The shopping centre, which attracts 30m visitors a year, was put up for sale in August after Intu Properties, its owner, went into administration.
The centre attracted interest from Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct retail tycoon, Henderson Park Capital and Morgan Stanley’s property division. However, bids of about £900m were almost half the last valuation of £1.7bn made by Intu.
The principal creditor to the property, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, has seized control saying that none of the bids was “viable”.
It will now work alongside Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to improve the asset’s value.
