Hammerson withdraws offer for Intu Properties

Hammerson, the part-owner of Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin, has withdrawn its offer to buy Intu Properties, a deal that would have created the UK's biggest shopping centre owner.

The company will now focus on what it describes as higher growth parts of its portfolio, such as its Irish business. As well as its interest in Dundrum, the company owns the Ilac Centre and the Pavilions in Swords, also in Dublin. It is also behind plans for a new quarter in Dublin’s north inner city, known as the Dublin Central project. This six-acre site includes the former Carlton Cinema on O’Connell Street.

Cut costs

Hammerson's initial bid of about $5 billion (€4 billion) for Intu had come as shopping-centre owners try to combine to cut costs and focus on premium properties. The decision was announced days after Klepierre abandoned its pursuit of Hammerson, a deal that would have created one of the largest retail-property owners in Europe.

“The equity market now perceives a heightened level of risk associated with the UK retail property sector as a whole,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.