Slough council agrees to sell Halfords superstore to pay off debts

The Halfords superstore in Bath Road will be sold by Slough Borough Council for more than £4 million as part of the local authority’s cost-cutting measures.

The Labour-run council bought the site at 380 Bath Road in 2016 for £4.03 million as part of an investment plan to generate regular rental income.

But the council’s perilous financial position has led to the local authority selling land and buildings as it looks to pay off its borrowing debts.

The 11,500 sq ft site now looks set to be the next to be sold following a council meeting on Monday.

Labour councillor Rob Anderson, cabinet member for financial oversight and council assets, told the meeting: “We have an opportunity to close this deal very quickly because we have a very keen buyer which is good news for us as we get the money in quicker.

“Halfords was one of the sites that we identified as an investment property and something we wanted to dispose of fairly quickly as part of our debt reduction strategy.”

He added: “If we accept the report’s recommendations to sell the property we will be getting in excess what we paid for it and it is well in excess of the figure that was put out on the market.

“It’s a good deal all round and will lead to us having a £100,000 saving on our revenue budget because of the reduction in minimum revenue production and reduction on interest cost in borrowing.

Slough Borough Council is hoping to conclude the deal for the building in the next few weeks.

Council leader James Swindlehurst added: “The bid is more than we’ve paid for it and we’ve earned rent in the meantime.

“Getting it off our books further advances our financial recovery.