Woking Council to sell hotel and shopping centres as part of bankruptcy recovery
Regeneration projects to be marketed to private investors in effort to recoup public funds
Woking Borough Council is taking decisive steps to recover from its 2023 bankruptcy by selling its major regeneration projects, including the town’s Hilton Hotel and several shopping centres, to private investors.
The council gained notoriety as the most heavily indebted borough in the country, prompting significant job cuts and service reductions to tackle a £2.6 billion financial deficit.
The leadership has now resolved to market Victoria Square, Wolsey Place, Alexander House, and its Thameswey energy company in an effort to recapture public funds invested into ill-fated ventures from 2016 to 2019.
During an executive committee meeting held on 18th March, Councillor Dale Roberts, portfolio holder for finance, outlined the weight of responsibility in managing the council’s complex commercial portfolio.
"The work of understanding and unravelling the council’s commercial structures has weighed heavily at times and that is in large part because of the scale of what we inherited," Roberts said.
The first actions involve selling Victoria Square Woking, including the Hilton Hotel; Wolsey Place Shopping Centre; Wolsey Walk residential units; Alexander House; Export House; and related units in Victoria Square. These will be combined to maximize market value, though the council will retain ownership of certain car parks.
The Thameswey energy company, serving Victoria Square exclusively, is also planned for sale, with potential for a specialist company to integrate it within an existing enterprise. A debt-for-equity swap forms part of the Thameswey transaction, involving a historic loss of approximately £42 million.
"The sale represents disappointment in a venture that should never have been put at risk by a local borough council," said Liberal Democrats’ Cllr Steve Greentree.
Portfolio holder for housing, Cllr Ian Johnson, remarked that though sobering, the decision would finally relieve the council of unsustainable resource drains.
These asset sales form a key component of the Government’s bailout program, which includes a £500 million pledge to the borough, with additional support contingent upon revenue from the planned transactions.
Borough leader, Cllr Ann-Maire Barker, emphasized the administration’s long-standing desire to conclude these sales as part of its mission to focus council services on community needs.
Finalization of sales agreements will require full council approval.