A SUPERMARKET in Hampshire owned by a bankrupt council is set to be sold.
It comes as Slough Borough Council is selling up to £600m worth of its properties and land.
The value of its properties has dropped by millions of pounds and it is facing a £680m borrowing debt and £479m budget black hole.
Properties and being sold include Waitrose in Gosport and the Odeon Cinema in Basingstoke.
A Wickes store in Wolverhampton and a Euroway warehouse in Bradford are also being sold.
A council report said Waitrose does not want to extend its lease in Gosport after it expires in 2025 due to a drop in trade.
But Waitrose has told the Echo it wants to negotiate terms with any new landlord and continue to trade.
A spokesperson said: "It is our intention to negotiate terms with the new landlord when they are in place and to continue trading from this site."
Council leader James Swindlehurst has said the assets outside Slough are “not loved” by residents and are no longer needed.
The council is trying to raise £50m in 2022/23 - and hopes to reach £100m by March 31 to pay off its debts.
According to a council report, the properties were bought between 2017 and 2019 for a total of £31.8m.
They were bought as investments to pump revenue into the council’s budget – but the yields they gave were not as generous as the council originally thought.
Property advisor Avison Young said the Odeon and the Waitrose have fallen in value by £5.2m due to Covid-19 and inflation affecting the cinema market.
The supermarket trade in Gosport has fallen and the Waitrose in the area has not traded well.
This is so much so that Waitrose bosses have said they do not wish to extend its lease when it expires in 2025.
Two bids were received for the Basingstoke cinema, whereas only one bidder was interested in the Waitrose supermarket.
The other two assets have largely maintained their value and have had significant interest and bidders.
The current total value of all four assets is £26.6m.
However, the total offers on the Bradford warehouse and Wilkes store exceed current valuations by £1.3m, meaning the council could bag £27.9m – a £3.9m loss.
The report states this nearly £4m loss will be written off to the capital adjustment account in the council’s balance sheet. Selling the properties will also reduce its borrowing costs by £644,000.
Commissioners sent in by the government to help fix the council’s financial governance woes strongly supported the sales but will talk with external auditors on whether the council’s purchases were a ‘good and appropriate’ use of public money.
They stated it was ‘unclear’ what professional valuation advice was given when the four assets were bought.
They also stated: “It is hard to see why the council, in the light of this information, could have decided that these investments were a good and appropriate use of public money.
“Commissioners will discuss with the external auditors whether this matter should be formally referred to them for investigation and report.”
A decision will be made by senior councillors at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, September 21.
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