Manchester’s Trafford Centre is being put up for sale less than two months after its parent company Intu Properties collapsed into administration.

Intu also runs Manchester’s Arndale Centre, Newcastle’s Eldon Square, Gateshead’s Metrocentre and Glasgow’s Braehead. 

Trafford Centre was last valued by Intu at almost £1.7 billion — but analysts now expect it to be sold for at least 20% lower.

“All parties are working constructively together to maximise value for this highly attractive asset,” a spokesperson for the joint administrators of Intu Properties said in a statement. 

Any sale process is expected to attract the interest of John Whittaker, the property tycoon who sold Trafford Centre to Intu in 2011.

Investment bank PJT Partners and property research firm CBRE have been appointed to advise on the sale process.