Row over West Berkshire Council investment sell-offs

The Lib Dem administration said it would not sell "unless the price is right"

A local authority has lost millions of pounds by publicising that it needs to sell off property investments, opposition councillors have claimed.

West Berkshire Council is looking to sell off some of its £62m worth of investments to plug its overspend.

But the opposition Conservative group leader said the council had "shown the buyers our hand".

The Lib Dem administration said it would not sell "unless the price is right".

The council holds investments, including supermarkets, commercial warehousing, a bank and a petrol station, but has seen their total value fall by about £7m recently.

The council reported a budget overspend of £6.3m for the first quarter earlier this year.

Speaking at a meeting of the council's scrutiny committee, Conservative councillor Howard Woollaston said: "They say you should never sell at the bottom of the market. The timing could not be worse."

'Stormy waters'

The challenging economic environment has resulted in declining property valuations - in March 2023 the portfolio was valued at £51.4m, compared to a purchase value of £58.6m - although the council spent £62m with purchase costs added in.

Finance portfolio holder Iain Cottingham said: "It is not a fire sale; we will not sell unless the price is right."

"We are aware of the financial pressure we are facing to make sure we have a balanced budget so we have been looking at options to do that," he added.

He said the council also wanted to "reduce the risk" of holding the investments.

"The commercials rental sector is heading for stormy waters. We might find ourselves with a portfolio which does not cover its costs through the rent," he said.

Any final decision on the move is due to be made at a meeting of the full council in February.