The landlord behind the Manchester's Trafford Centre and the Essex Lakeside is bracing itself for a 'challenging' rest of 2019, it warned today, as the troubles in the retail sector show no sign of abating.

Intu cautioned that a 'higher-than-expected' number of store closures in 2019 will likely take a chunk out of its bottom line.

There have been a flurry of so-called CVAs in the last couple of years, through which struggling retailers have been allowed to terminate leases early or negotiate lower rents with landlords.

Downgrade: Intu, which owns 17 UK shopping centres including Lakeside (above) has slashed its full-year forecasts as it expects there to be more CVAs in 2019 than there were last year

The growing popularity of this controversial insolvency mechanism is taking its toll on some landlords as the unexpected store closures can leave them out of pocket until a new tenant is found.

Carpetright, New Look, Mothercare and Homebase all went through CVAs last year to slim down their store estates and shore up their finances. Debenhams and Monsoon Accessorize are among those considering taking the drastic action next.

Intu also flagged today a notable slowdown in lettings as some retailers delay plans to open new stores or expand amid ongoing Brexit uncertainty.

In the last three months, Intu has secured 53 long-term leases, down from 60 in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the amount of rent generated declined by 40 per cent to £6million as it suffered the loss of some New Look Men and HMV stores.

Closing down: A high level of retail failures has hurt retail landlords. Administrations and CVAs mean they have more vacant sites to fill and less rental income

Consequently, the company has slashed its full-year forecasts. It now expects rental income to fall by between four per cent and six per cent during the year, rather than the previously slated one to two per cent drop.

Intu recently suffered the embarrassment of two interested buyers pulling out in less than a year, a blow that claimed the scalp of former boss David Fischel and sent shares down sharply.

Today, new chief executive Matthew Roberts set out his strategy to reduce debts.

Roberts, who was promoted from finance chief, said the firm will sell off some assets in the UK and in Spain, and will cut back on its future investments.

'Our operational performance in the quarter has been stable,' the new boss said.

'Despite the current operating environment, I believe we have a very good business and am confident we can meet the challenges we are facing head-on.'

The firm's already depressed shares tumbled 6 per cent in early trading on Friday to 93p.

'Intu's pains are far from over as many retail companies are still struggling to stay afloat,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

'It is worth bearing in mind that Debenhams accounts for 3 per cent of Intu's rent roll. That retailer announced a CVA last week and is closing 22 of its 166 stores.

'While none of this batch are located in Intu's centres, the risk that further stores will close will hang over the landlord and its share price,' Mould said.

Earlier this year, Intu - which owns 17 shopping centres across the UK - scrapped its full-year dividend as it reported an annual loss of £1.2billion.