• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • LATIF
  • Conferences
  • Dashboard
  • Edit My Profile
  • Log In
  • Logout
  • Register
  • Edit this post

Room 151

  • 151 BRIEF

    What's New?

  • WMCA signs £4bn investment agreement with L&G

    May 18, 2022

  • Bill will give UK Infrastructure Bank power to lend directly to councils

    May 18, 2022

  • £400bn pension group collaborates on climate transition initiative

    May 17, 2022

  • CIPFA rejects proposal for vote on publication of fraud hub report

    May 17, 2022

  • John Turnbull elected president of the SLT

    May 12, 2022

  • Pension pool identifies biodiversity as a priority

    May 11, 2022

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews
  • Briefs

News Roundup: Rate rise ‘could produce greater yields’, Grover leaves London CIV, PWLB lending slows

0
  • by Colin Marrs
  • in 151 News
  • — 2 Nov, 2017

Rate rise ‘could support council funding levels’
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted by a majority of 7-2 to increase the base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.5%. In a statement, the bank said: “All members agree that any future increases in Bank Rate would be expected to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent.” Paul Dossett, head of local government, Grant Thornton said that the impact on local government would be limited but that “the rise could potentially produce greater yields from some of the new types of investment, which is vital to help support general fund balances. But it also poses a risk and raises questions around future borrowing rates as many councils will need to borrow in order to help boost housing supply in their areas.”

Grover leaves London CIV
Hugh Grover is to step down as chief executive of the London Collective Investment Vehicle, the first fully authorised and regulated investment management company set up by local government in the UK. Mark Hyde-Harrison, currently head of defined contribution strategy at consultancy Willis Towers Watson, has been appointed interim chief executive. Grover said: “It’s been an honour and a privilege to be the first CEO of London CIV, but it is time for me to pass the baton to someone new who will take it into its next phase of development.”

CIPFA explores due diligence on investments
Warrington Borough Council’s head of corporate finance Danny Mather, together with Camdor Global’s Bob Swarup, has co-written an in-depth overview of due diligence carried out on the authority’s recent £200m purchase of a business park. The deal, which is the second biggest commercial property deal ever carried out by a local authority, was completed in September. In a case study produced for CIPFA, Mather said: “The ultimate aim of the due diligence process is to convince you that the investment you select is genuinely suited to your investment and other needs. If there is any niggling doubt, the answer is simple. No matter how good it may seem in other respects, walk away.”
The report will be made available on the CIPFA website here.

PWLB lending slows in October
The Public Works Loan Board lent £261m to councils during October, according to figures from the Debt Management Office. The figure is down on August’s £468m total which was the second highest month’s lending during 2017. In October, West Dunbartonshire Council took the most money with two loans totalling £30m.

Bristol in homelessness fund investment
A second tranche of £5m has been invested by Bristol City Council in the National Homelessness Property Fund. The money will allow the fund’s manager, Resonance, to build 100 homes for homeless people nominated by the council. Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, said the investment meant “the council will save money in the long run by relying less on expensive emergency temporary accommodation”.

Warrington MP questions council lending
Warrington North MP Helen Jones has raised questions about financial transactions being carried out by Warrington Borough Council. Quoted in the Warrington Guardian, Jones said she was concerned that loans allocated for housing associations were not guaranteed to end up in the town. She added: “”I have also asked whether the council’s involvement in the Redwood Bank is conditional on loans being made to small and medium-sized businesses in Warrington.” She ended her comments by saying: “All I can assume is that the local finance officers are being outgunned by people with much more expertise than they have.”

Stoke burns through reserves
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s pot of “usable” reserves fell from £199m in March 2016 to £136m in March 2017. The council used £15.45m to plug a gap in its budget for 2016/17, with reserves set to be depleted further in coming years. Labour members of the  council’s corporate services overview and scrutiny committee have criticised the rate at which reserves are being spent, according to local newspaper The Sentinel.

Pension funds take shopping centre stake
Greater Manchester Pension Fund and West Yorkshire Pension Fund have bought a 50% share in Norwich’s Intu Chapelfield shopping centre. The funds will jointly acquire a 50% stake in the centre for £148m, which made a net rental income of £15.5m in 2016. The deal, which will see Intu Properties retain ownership of the other half of the centre, represents a net initial yield of 5%.

Norfolk creates social impact bond
Norfolk County Council has become the latest organisation to create a social impact bond. The council will pay a subsidiary company if it manages to keep children out of care. It says that the deal could save £7m over five years, helping take pressure of its social care budget. The Vulnerable Child Social Impact Bond would target 360 children aged eight to 15 over the eight-year life of the project.

Get the Room151 Newsletter

Share

You may also like...

  • Investors ‘potentially damaging housing business models’, MOTB attendees told 28th Mar, 2022
  • Abolition of section 106 agreements ‘threat to local prioritisation’ 5th May, 2022
  • Levelling-up should be ‘rural-proofed’, says West Lindsey CEO 24th Feb, 2022
  • LGPS seeking clarity on levelling up agenda and pension pooling 17th Mar, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Latest tweets

    Room151 12 hours ago

    Back to the future for the PWLB: The Public Works Loan Board is tightening its lending criteria to ensure that loans will be repaid by local government borrowers. But, asks Peter Findlay, shouldn’t they have been doing[...] dlvr.it/SQcmmm pic.twitter.com/bVv4fe0Xlv

    Room151 13 hours ago

    Great piece from Peter Findlay on the PWLB’s tightening of its lending criteria. He raises some pointed questions for the Treasury and explains why the ‘casino council’ characterisation was simplistic and inaccurate. #PWLB #localgov room151.co.uk/treasury/back-…

    Room151 13 hours ago

    The Queen's speech highlighted the need for accelerating UK infrastructure investment into levelling up projects and cutting emissions. @UKInfraBank #QueensSpeech #ClimateAction #emissions Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 room151.co.uk/brief/bill-wil… pic.twitter.com/hFmF2veVIa

    Room151 13 hours ago

    Huge funding heading to the @WestMids_CA from @landg. @andy4wm #LevellingUp #netzero #regeneration Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 room151.co.uk/brief/wmca-sig… pic.twitter.com/ajhZhia6mx

    Room151 18 hours ago

    LGPS governance, Cagney and Lacey style: What regulatory response can be expected following the publication of the Good Governance project’s Phase 3 report and the closure of the Single Code of Practice consultation? Susan Black offers[...] dlvr.it/SQbfXf pic.twitter.com/xwqHOEu2AP

    Room151 2 days ago

    More evidence of the importance of emerging markets in the journey to net-zero. @BordertoCoast @BrunelPP @northernlgps @EAPensionFund @WYPF_LGPS Click the link below to read 🔻🔻 #LGPS #NetZero #NetZeroCarbon #EmergingMarkets room151.co.uk/brief/400bn-pe… pic.twitter.com/qCm0EGxzLn

    Room151 6 days ago

    ‘Urgent consultation’ issued in response to continuing audit delays: CIPFA and the Local Authority Scotland Accounts Advisory Committee (LASAAC) have announced another “urgent consultation” to consider proposals to address the latest issue that has led… dlvr.it/SQJ0kV pic.twitter.com/s6vw0bnGXO

    Room151 7 days ago

    Bags of capacity – now to housing delivery: HRAs have been freed up and councils are starting to invest, but some remain cautious, writes Steve Partridge. He suggests that a minimum of £10bn of additional borrowing could be[...] dlvr.it/SQDvxk pic.twitter.com/yZmoWzHv6U

    Room151 7 days ago

    Bags of capacity – now to housing delivery room151.co.uk/treasury/bags-…

    Room151 1 week ago

    To Michael Gove: a modest proposal: Conrad Hall has written an open letter to the levelling up secretary suggesting an unusual (and tongue-in-cheek) proposal to help councils predict next year’s government grant. Dear Secretary of State,[...] dlvr.it/SQ9GpX pic.twitter.com/mSX1xgeL8a

    Room151 1 week ago

    Queen’s Speech: an ambitious plan hampered by omissions: Richard Harbord examines the impact of the government’s legislative proposals on councils, and concludes that local authorities expect and need more from central government. However you view the… dlvr.it/SQ8hmP pic.twitter.com/BsnziyNPIO

  • Categories

    • 151 News
    • Agent 151
    • Audit
    • Blogs
    • Business rates
    • Chris Buss
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • Council tax
    • Dan Bates
    • David Crum
    • David Green
    • Development
    • Education
    • Forum
    • Funding
    • Governance
    • Graham Liddell
    • Housing
    • Ian O'Donnell
    • Infrastructure
    • Interviews
    • Jackie Shute
    • James Bevan
    • Jobs
    • Levelling up
    • LGPS
    • Mark Finnegan
    • Net Zero
    • Private markets
    • Recent Posts
    • Regulation
    • Resources
    • Responsible investing
    • Richard Harbord
    • Risk management
    • Social care
    • Stephen Fitzgerald
    • Stephen Sheen
    • Steve Bishop
    • Technical
    • Transport
    • Treasury
    • Uncategorized
    • William Bourne
  • Archives

    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
  • Previous story Consultation clears the way for MMF investment by Welsh councils
  • Next story William Bourne: Is LGPS heading toward negative cashflow?

© Copyright 2022 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.

0 shares