British shopping mall giant Intu, already struggling before the coronavirus lockdown in a tough retail climate, has said it is going into administration after failing to secure a financial lifeline.

The debt-laden firm, which owns 17 giant shopping malls, had been seeking to progress talks with creditors before a (2300 GMT) deadline.

“Discussions have been ongoing ... However, insufficient alignment and agreement ... has been achieved with financial stakeholders,” it said in a statement.

“As such, application is being made for the administrators to be appointed to Intu and several other key central entities in the Intu Group.”