Several commercial properties owned by Swindon Borough Council will be put up for sale.
The council has a significant portfolio of property it rents out to provide an income- the properties range from shops to industrial buildings, office blocks and farms.
Now some of them are to be offered for sale – with a total receipt of £21m being hoped for.
The list of the properties for sale has not been made public, nor the price the council’s advisors say the authority might receive for each one. This is to try and maximise the receipt.
If the council does make £121m on the sale, about £11m will go towards paying off some of the debt it has to service from its annual revenue budget, particularly more expensive debts on short-life assets such as IT equipment or vehicles.
A report to the council’s cabinet said paying off the debt would outweigh the loss of income by about £300,000 a year – and it would still leave £10m for capital projects.
Members of the cabinet approved the plan unanimously this week.
There are already some of the council’s properties available to rent before the latest decision was taken.
They include three shop units in Theatre Square and one in Regent Street, as well as units in two industrial parks and a shop in Cavendish Square in Park South.
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