A £2.9bn takeover bid for the shopping centre group Intu, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Metrocentre in Gateshead, has been abandoned amid Brexit-related concerns.

A bidding consortium made up of the Intu shareholder Peel Group, Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group, which together already own just 30% of Intu, together with the Canadian firm Brookfield Property had tabled a 210.4p per share offer.

But the consortium said it was not able to go ahead with an offer within the timetable allowed under the regulator Takeover Panel’s rules, which would have meant confirming a deal on Friday, amid “uncertainty around current macroeconomic conditions and the potential near-term volatility across markets”.

David Fischel, the chief executive of Intu, said: “There is only one reason this deal was called off and that was Brexit … In the last couple of weeks for Brookfield, as an outsider looking in, how can they make a real decision about investing in the UK right now and weigh up the risks?”

He said the consortium had been ready to move ahead with the deal until Theresa May’s Brexit plan was unveiled last week and “all hell broke loose”.

“Inward investment into the UK until things have stabilised is going to be very difficult,” Fischel said.

News of the bid collapse comes as under-pressure retail property values face the threat of further writedowns. Intu property values have fallen nearly 10% this year alone.

Shares in Intu dived by 40% to 114.5p on the announcement, wiping £1bn from the value of the company, while shares in fellow shopping centre owners Hammerson and Land Securities also took a hit amid fears for the wider industry.

Intu also warned it would cut its dividend payments to shareholders because of the uncertainty in the market and difficulty in offloading assets.

The threat of a disorderly Brexit has sent jitters throughout the retail property market, with Intu the latest victim. .

John Whittaker, chair of the investment firm Peel, said: “We remain fully committed to Intu as a long-term, strategic shareholder … Intu’s portfolio of super regional and prime city centre shopping centres is trading strongly.”

However, analysts said a failure to agree new leases with House of Fraser, which has outlets in four Intu centres, and the potential loss of other outlets owned by the department store’s owner, Sports Direct, would not have been helpful to the deal.

Fears for the retail property market, after a slew of closures from major chains including New Look, Carpetright, Mothercare, Next and Marks & Spencer as they navigate a shift to online shopping and a general slowdown in spending, have also hit retail property values.

Intu’s property values slumped 9% in the first nine months of this year, losing almost £300m in value between July and September alone.

Intu said House of Fraser’s “underperforming space” accounted for 1% of rental income and there would also be increased “vacancy costs” when the stores close early next year and the space is remodelled.

Fischel said: “[The exit of ] House of Fraser is a positive. It will push us to do things that are interesting, a combination of retail, leisure and other activities. We have lots of ideas.”

Intu is also looking at alternative uses for spare land, including unused car parks, including a potential 5,000 homes, 600 hotel rooms and flexible working spaces.

It said the dividend was being cut in order to fund investment in such ideas.

However, the Intu deal is the third retail property takeover to collapse this year after the Bullring owner Hammerson abandoned a bid for Intu in April, a few days after the French shopping centre firm Klépierre aborted a takeover of Hammerson. Shares in Hammerson dipped nearly 5% and Land Securities were down nearly 4% on Thursday.

“It has been a bruising 2018 for shopping centre landlord Intu Properties as it is jilted at the altar for a second time,” said Russ Mould of investment and broking firm AJ Bell.

“The company is now left in a difficult position with too much debt, retail assets which would be difficult to sell, and the prospect of losing tenants. On top is the looming departure of chief executive David Fischel.”