Troubled council sells off Yorkshire asset to aid its financial recovery

Real estate advisor Avison Young, acting on behalf of Slough Borough Council, has completed the sale of Euroway 26, in Bradford, to an undisclosed buyer.

The council has owned this property since 2019. The sale marks the start of a series of disposals of council-owned assets, agreed as part of Government intervention in the borough following the financial collapse of the council in 2021.

Euroway 26 is a prime industrial asset encompassing 200,747 sq ft GIA, refurbished extensively in 2018. It is currently let to established logistics operator Expect Distribution on a 15-year lease from March 2019.

James Yates, director in Capital Markets, Avison Young, said: “The asset was acquired only three years ago, and the sale demonstrates there remains a market for well-located logistics buildings with good fundamentals.”

Councillor Rob Anderson, lead member for financial oversight and council assets at Slough Borough Council, said:
“This first sale is a milestone in our programme to divest the council of surplus property assets, to reduce our borrowing and bring the council back to a stable financial footing.

“Cabinet agreed a package of the council’s out-of-borough investment properties were sold first, as these are surplus to our operational requirements, don’t have significance to local people in the way some of our assets in the town do, and aren’t always producing strong rental income anymore, given recent changes in the economic landscape.

“I am pleased this first sale has completed, with the other sales we are transacting, as these support the council’s financial recovery by producing significant capital receipts and reducing our borrowing and debt charges.”