Blackpool Council buys Houndshill Shopping Centre for £47m

The purchase also includes the centre's 770-space multi-storey car park

Blackpool Council has bought Houndshill Shopping Centre for £47m.

The purchase price is less than half the £105m previous owners BCC Eiffel paid for it in 2015, the council said.

It stepped in to buy the town centre site, which has more than 60 outlets including Debenhams, after it went into receivership.

The council claims the move will deliver significant financial returns and be a catalyst for regeneration.

The purchase of Houndshill also includes the centre's 770-space multi-storey car park.

"This is a hugely positive move for the town that will give us direct control over the Fylde coast's major retail centre," a spokesperson for Blackpool Council said.

"This acquisition will deliver a significant financial return to the council but, more importantly, will allow us to invest in a shopping centre that is fundamentally important to Blackpool's future."

They added that while the shopping centre "trades well" with high levels of occupancy and "strong" income streams, the company which owned it was "clearly not in a position to make serious investment" in it.

The council said it has borrowed the purchase money and intended to pay the loan back through rents received.

The authority also owns some of the resort's top attractions including Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens as well as Blackpool Airport.