Prudential Property Investment

Increasingly there is a move towards investments in commercial properties, funded by borrowing, with the key driver of this activity appearing to be the generation of revenue. A look at the regulatory landscape rightly casts doubt upon such practices.

Statutory investment guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) last year set out clearly that local authorities need to consider the long-term sustainability risk implicit in becoming too dependent on commercial income, or in taking out too much debt relative to net service expenditure.

The increased scale of investment in property was recognised by revisions to CIPFA's Prudential Code for Capital Finance and the Treasury Management Code in 2017 but the growing amounts being borrowed for such a purpose are putting a strain on the creditability of the Prudential Framework and reinforce the need to ensure that such acquisitions are affordable, prudent and sustainable. 

In addition to the core issue of borrowing in advance of need, which the Prudential Code has very clear provisions on, this publication provides guidance on the risk perspective to the practical assessment of prudence and affordability. Those risks could be very difficult to manage. Even when these issues are managed and there is reliance on investment income, a potential failure or a downturn of the property market may have a direct impact upon local services.

This publication, considers such issues and the actions local authorities would need to take to mitigate against such risks.

This publication is available in online format only.

Details of licensing arrangements for other categories of purchaser, which includes those organisations operating shared service arrangements, are available from CIPFA's Publications Department.