Shopping centre owner intu is in talks about a £2.8billion takeover.

A consortium comprising of the Peel Group, the Olayan Group and Brookfield Property Group is in the preliminary stages of considering a possible cash offer.

There is no news yet on how this might affect the company's Watford branch.

The FTSE 250 company received £2.15 per share revised cash proposal on October 17, an increase on the £2.05 per share offered a week earlier.

The deal is being chaired by intu's billionaire deputy chairman, John Whittaker, who owns a 27pc stake in the comany through his investment firm Peel Group.