Intu, has collapsed in administration after a failing to find a potential buyer or meet an agreement with its lenders.

The company is the UK’s biggest shopping centre group, with 17 centres in the UK, including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex and three in Spain.

It said the owner has appointed administrators from KMPG for talks about a potential financial restructuring for the company follwoing the announcement minutes after the London Stock Exchange suspended shares.

Around 3,000 staff jobs across the country are now at risk while a further 102,000 are employed within the shops homed at the centres.

The group has struggled under a £4.5 billion debt for the past year, with retailers demanding lower rents and customers increasingly shopping online as main factors.

Lockdown during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in around 60% of shop staff and 20% of head office workers being furloughed.

The company has since confirmed that its shopping centres will continue to trade for the time being until a decision is made by the administrators.