North Somerset Council has bought the North Worle District Centre in Weston-super-Mare for £38m.
It is the council’s first acquisition as part of its commercial investment strategy to help protect front line services and drive economic growth in the area.
The 11.8-acre site, next to junction 21 of the M5, includes a supermarket let to Sainsbury’s, a petrol station, a retail warehouse let to TK Maxx and five other retail units, as well as a pub.
The council bought the site using a bank loan and said the investment would an immediate financial return to the council over and above the costs of borrowing. The council estimates this will be at least £225,000 in the first year, rising to over £400,000 in subsequent years.
Council leader Nigel Ashton said: “We will soon have no funding from central government for local services so, like other councils up and down the country, we need to find alternative ways of raising money.”
“And, as the new owners of the site, we will also have the opportunity to influence and regenerate the site in the future, contributing to North Somerset’s economic growth.”
Montagu Evan advised the council, and is the appointed property investment and asset manager of the council’s property investment fund, which was approved in July last year and funded through unsupported borrowing.
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