It has been announced today that a Canadian property investment company has become the new owner of the Trafford Centre.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) – which is headquartered in Toronto and is a well-established investor in UK shopping centres, with specialist experience of owning large scale retail assets – has acquired ownership of the shopping centre after failing to find an alternative buyer upon previous owner Intu collapsing into administration back in June.
No price has been revealed, but it is understood to be in the region of £800 million, which is less than the £1.3 billion valuation quoted in August this year.
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” of the mall, but now CPPIB – through its wholly owned subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc (CPPIB Credit) – has acquired sole ownership.
In 2017, CPPIB provided a £250 million loan to Intu to secure against its prime asset.
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But this was not enough to save the shopping centre giant after it was hit hard due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – with many of its retail tenants going out of business or unable to pay rent – before it collapsed into administration under the weight of £5 billion in debt.
Intu’s ongoing economic struggles also came as value of shopping centres has fallen dramatically against the backdrop of consumers’ increasing preference for online retail.
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Despite this, the new owners remain hopeful for the centre’s long-term prospects.
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.”
Speaking on the acquisition, Geoff Souter – Managing Director and Head of Real Assets Credit at CPPIB Credit – said: “The Trafford Centre is one of the UK’s top five shopping centres, welcoming more than 30 million shoppers annually, and counts many leading global retailers among its occupiers.
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“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.”
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Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs
Daisy Jackson
After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.
The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.
Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.
But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.
The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.
One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.
The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).
In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.
It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.
But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”
Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.
And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”
Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”
Met Office issues snow warnings for large parts of northern England from this evening
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester could be waking up to a winter wonderland as weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued across northern England.
Expected to arrive anywhere from 6pm this evening (18 November) and last until around 10am tomorrow morning (19 November), the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for large parts of northern England – indicating that “snow may bring disruption to a central swathe of the UK during Monday night and Tuesday morning”.
Weather forecasters say that although most snow is likely to accumulate on higher ground, with five-10 cm on ground over 200 metres, and possibly 15-20 cm over 300 metres, there is a chance that snow may settle at lower levels “within the warning area”.
The Met Office also said that this possible five-10 cm at lower levels is likely to be “more disruptive”, particularly if travelling and if the snow coincides with rush hour, but the likelihood for that is still “uncertain” at this stage.
Greater Manchester could see snow from this evening as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning / Credit: Geograph | Pexels
As the rain, sleet, and snow begin to clear on tomorrow morning, ice may form on surfaces that are untreated.
“We have issued yellow warnings for snow and ice as cold weather moves in from the north,” explained Andy Page, who is a Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office.
“This brings snow showers and some ice to parts of Scotland on Sunday night, and then the potential for a spell of snow to lead to disruption to some transport routes across a central swathe of the UK on Tuesday morning.”
⚠️ Yellow weather warning UPDATED ⚠️
Snow & ice across southern parts of Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and north Wales
In addition to the severe weather warnings, a Cold Health Alert has also been issued by the UKHSA, and it covers the north of England and the Midlands right through until Thursday.
The Manc -
16th December 2020 
