Epping Forest Council has experienced a “sea change” in its investment strategy following the £88.2m sale of a council-owned airfield.
In a treasury management outturn report, the authority outlined a “significant increase” in investments between April 2023 to March 2024 “for the first time in several years”, with total investments rising from £14.1m to £43.9m.
In a breakdown of the investments, the report revealed that Epping Forest committed £19m to short-term investments, mainly in other local authorities, at interest rates of 6.1%.
The authority also ramped up its holdings in cash and cash equivalents, including Money Market Funds, from £14.1m to £24.9m at an interest rate of 5.1%.
The report explained that Epping Forest was able to make these investments as a result of the council receiving a “large” capital receipt of £88.2m. The capital receipt was generated from the land disposal of the authority-owned North Weald Airport.
“There was a substantial ‘sea change’ from that point onwards, with the council receiving a large capital receipt of £88.2m in relation to a land disposal at North Weald Airfield,” the report stated.
Set to be presented to the council’s Audit and Governance Committee on 19 September, the report also highlighted that the influx of capital allowed Epping Forest to pay off its short-term borrowing of £33m.
Notably, the authority paid off all of its £20m short-term borrowing from other local authorities.
Additionally, the £88.2m capital receipt allowed the authority to extend further loan advances to its subsidiary, Qualis. The report noted that £25.9m was loaned to the company during the last financial year to enable a range of developments including the completion of the Cottis Lane multi-story car park.
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