Slough Borough Council has sold the AkzoNobel paint factory site in Wexham Road, Slough, for more than £100m as it seeks to pay down its debts.
The council bought the site last year from Panattoni for£38m but now needs to sell around £600m of its real estate asset to reduce its £760m of debt.
The industrial site – between the canal and the railway line off Wexham Road – was bought by the council for a potential housing development, but following the effective collapse of the council in 2021 it was put up for sale.
The sale is one of a number of asset disposals to be completed by the end of the financial year.
Rob Anderson, lead member for financial oversight and council assets, said: “Originally, we bought this site with the vision of creating housing, but despite this original vision not being practical in reality, this site has proven to be a very good investment.
“It has been widely reported that we need to sell assets totalling hundreds of millions of pounds; this sale goes a significant way to meeting that target and stabilising the council’s financial position for the future.”
James Swindlehurst, leader of the council, said: “The large-scale profit on the sale of this asset – made in little over a year – reflects the strong growth in demand for sites that can meet data centre, logistics and distribution uses. The proceeds from this sale alone will significantly assist the council in its financial recovery.”
The council has appointed Avison Young for the asset disposal programme to ensure each sale achieves best value. The final decision on all sales over £1m is made by the council’s cabinet.
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