The council has not followed other authorities’ property investments which were high-risk, high-reward but also high-loss.
Cllr Martin Tod was outlining the council property investment policy to the scrutiny committee.
Many councils nationwide invested large sums in property and have since been hit when interest rates rose and returns declined. Woking Borough Council in Surrey, has declared itself effectively bankrupt.
“We are doing better than Woking. We have made the decision that we are not going to rush around the country buying shopping centres in places we have never been to. I’m always quite surprised by the prices paid by other local authorities for assets in the middle of Winchester.
READ MORE HERE: Pizza Express restaurant on the market
“The world of property investment is risk versus return. We have made a decision that we are not a high-risk property investor. We did not use the period of low interest rates to borrow heavily to invest in a commercial property portfolio. So the returns we get will reflect that.”
Cllr Tod did not elaborate on “other local authorities” buying property in Winchester. But it is public knowledge that Surrey County Council owns the Debenhams building currently being converted into three restaurants, for Nando’s, Five Guys and, rumoured to be, Pizza Express.
He said the city council owned assets that its predecessors had acquired in the 14th and 15th centuries. It has current property leases with businesses that are more than 100 years old.
Cllr Tod revealed that the council is again considering whether to lease Abbey House, the mayor’s official residence in The Broadway. The building is used for civic events but is often standing empty.
