Woking was lent millions of pounds of public money just two days before the government published a damning review into its finances and sent in commissioners, leading to accusations of a “lack of any...
An English city council is restructuring a debt owed by its landmark seafront attraction to ensure it is repaid “as quickly as possible” following three years of missed payments, but has delayed a...
Suffolk County Council has used Public Works Loan Board borrowing to repay £30m of ‘lender option, borrower option’ loans, but expects to deliver real terms savings of £6.4m.
Nottinghamshire County Council will need to borrow a further £70m to deliver capital projects and refinance loans, pushing its total debt close to £600m.
Norfolk County Council is set to use community infrastructure levy income to finance debt repayments on new loans to help meet a £46m gap in its school building programme.
Local government bodies continued to pile into the Public Works Loan Board last month, as authorities take advantage of cheap financing, according to a finance chief.
Warwickshire County Council has approved plans to borrow up to £130m over the next five years, which it intends to pass on to businesses to help their long-term recovery from Covid-19.
An investment company set up to buy commercial property on behalf of two councils has suffered cumulative losses of more than £12.5m since it launched four years ago.
Uttlesford District Council is applying for a credit rating to allow it access to a greater range of borrowing to fund its multi-million programme of out-of-borough commercial investments.
Torbay Council has become the latest authority to shelve its planned commercial investment following PWLB rules changes – scrapping £68m of its planned programme.
Reading Borough Council has scrapped plans to add to its commercial property portfolio due to Covid-19 and changes to Public Works Loan Board lending rules.
West Berkshire Council is to shelve the uncompleted third of its £100m commercial investment plan following the introduction of new restrictions on borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board.
Spelthorne Borough Council’s controversial commercial investment strategy has allowed it to propose council tax freezes next year despite Covid-19 disruption, according to its finance chief.
Local authorities borrowed £252m from the Public Works Loan Board in December, the highest sum borrowed since April, following November’s one percentage point drop in borrowing rate.
The recent restrictions imposed on borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board will make budget management in the medium term more challenging, ratings agency Moody’s has said.
Local authorities could be required to provide central government with extra details on their commercial property portfolios, according to a senior official.
The UK Municipal Bonds Agency has withdrawn a planned bond issuance with Warrington Borough Council after chancellor Rishi Sunak changed the terms of borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board.
Reforms to the system of accessing Public Works Loan Board borrowing increase the importance of good decision-making by council section 151 officers, says David Blake.
The government has reversed its October 2019 hike in the Public Works Loan Board borrowing rate and introduced a ‘ban’ on councils borrowing to raise revenue from commercial property.
