JP Morgan downgrades shopping centre landlord Intu

Investor concerns over beleaguered retail landlord Intu showed no sign of fading today as shares slumped a further five per cent.

Read more: Shares fall at shopping centre owner Intu as it warns on rental profit

The shopping centre owner was one of the leading fallers on the London Stock Exchange this morning after an analyst note late on Sunday from JP Morgan determined that "despite a tough 2018, the outlook for Intu hasn’t stabilised in our view".

The brokers downgraded Intu to an 'Underweight' stock: "Management is moving it in the right direction, but we think this will take time and we await further evidence of improvement in the wider UK retail market."

The bank said that it saw limited likelihood of UK disposals and that the future earnings per share (EPS) multiple did not look compelling relative to other retail peers.  

Short-sellers have been stepping up their bets against Intu in recent months, as they look to cash in on the embattled shopping centre owner’s current retail troubles.

Read more: Short-sellers smell blood at embattled Intu

City punters have been circling the landlord amid forecasts the group’s rental income will slide as some major tenants eye possible closures.

The amount of Intu’s shares that have been sold short has gone from just under 2.5 per cent at Christmas to more than six per cent, with Marshall​ Wace and Odey Asset Management both upping bearish positions.

“Short-sellers are chipping away at Intu and the shopping centre landlord’s new chief executive, Matthew Roberts, will need to come up with a convincing new plan when he presents it alongside the interim results in late July if he is to fend them off,” according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.