THE company which owns Kendal's K Village shopping centre has gone into administration.

Kendal Riverside Limited were placed into administration on December 28, a brief statement released by the firm said.

John Hansen and Stuart Irwin, of KPMG, have been appointed joint administrators.

A spokesman for Kendal Riverside said: "The affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the joint administrators.

"The centre will continue to operate as normal and it is firmly business as usual."

Following the announcement, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: “Jobs and investment are a priority for me and I am working tirelessly to do everything I can to improve the local economy so this is sad news.

"What is important to say is that the shops inside K Village and their staff are not affected at the moment.

"We need to try and find a buyer for the centre soon and make sure we attract more businesses that people want to visit.

“Many people tell me we need a major retailer like Primark or Nandos in there.

"I’d like to see if we could make that happen. If we could attract a business like that it would make a massive difference to the centre.”

A South Lakeland District Council spokesman said: “It is encouraging that the administrators are running the business as a going concern and SLDC hopes they find a positive way forward.”

The £100m complex opened in July 2010, with the company stating at the time that it aimed to attract more than 1.5 million visitors and up to 4,000 coaches a year.