The biggest investor in the shopping centres giant that owns Lakeside in Essex has been forced to restructure his shareholding twice amid pressure from lenders.
John Whittaker, whose private Peel Group owns 29.3% of Intu Properties, has had to pump more equity into the special-purpose vehicles that hold his shares as the stock price has fallen.
of Whittaker’s Intu stake is held in three vehicles — Peel Chapel No 1, No 2 and No 3. In April, research by the investment bank Jefferies suggested he had borrowed heavily against the stock, with the three vehicles showing loan-to-value ratios of about 65% in December last year.
