A SUPERMARKET chain has said it will continue to trade in its Gosport branch after its lease ends - despite a council report saying it would quit.

Slough Borough Council owns the Waitrose building in Stoke Road and wants to sell it off.

A report for the council said  Waitrose does not want to extend its lease in Gosport after it expires in 2025 due to a drop in trade.

But now 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."

READ MORE: Waitrose in Gosport set to close by 2025 as council sells off properties

The council report said: "The property is a two storey building located in a mainly residential area of Gosport, Hampshire located on the High Street, currently used as a supermarket. There are three other larger competitor supermarkets within 1 mile.

"The market for the supermarket in this area of Gosport has fallen and interested parties were aware that Waitrose had not traded well from the site, and thought that Waitrose would not re-gear their lease.

"The property is currently tenanted. Whilst the current tenants, Waitrose, have a strong tenancy covenant, they have indicated that they do not intend to extend the tenancy when it terminates in 2025, and there is little discernible appetite for the site from other supermarket chains or property developers."

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 report said Waitrose does not want to extend its lease after it expires in 2025
A Wickes store in Wolverhampton and a Euroway warehouse in Bradford are also being sold.

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.