Councillors in Bracknell have decided to privately sell an asset that it owns outside of the town.
Bracknell Forest council currently owns six commercial sites in England, includoing offices in Sheffield, a retail park in Lincoln and commercial warehouses elxsewhere.
These assets were purchased through the council’s Commercial Property Investment Strategy (CPIS), which was adopted in 2016 and saw £86.6 million being spent on the acquisitions.
Rent from these assets has been earning the council approximately £3 million per year since 2019/2020.
A decision has now been made to sell one of these assets to the current occupier of the building at a cabinet meeting.
A report into the sale states that the tenant intends to purchase the site at the end of the existing lease, with its offer being considered to provide the best value for the council.
While the decision to dispose of the asset was taken in a public section of the meeting, the identity of the asset and its purchaser remains confidential.
Councillor Helen Purnell, the deputy leader of the council, wanted to avoid having to make the meeting private, therefore, the decision to sell the asset was made in public, honouring council leader Mary Temperton’s desire for transparency.
Cllr Purnell said: “As our dear leader says, we want to keep these meetings open and transparent.”
However, the asset has been kept confidential due to commercial sensitivity.
Cllr Purnell said: “The CPIS has delivered strong financial returns since 2016, helping us to protect core services.
“This disposal represents best value and reduces future risk.
“Crucially, it supports our community strategy by safeguarding financial resilience, the foundation that enables us to invest in connected, inclusive, and healthy communities across Bracknell Forest.”
The disposal of the asset was approved unanimously by the cabinet on December 16, 2025.
The meeting was chaired by Cllr Purnell in the absence of Cllr Temperton.
A freedom of information request (FOI) has been submitted to the council requesting the address of the asset, the identity of the current tenant and purchaser, and how much money will be generated by the sale.
The six assets the out-of-town council owns are offices, warehouses and a retail park.
The biggest office the council owns is a building at Sheffield Park, which is used as the Contact Centre for DSG Retail Ltd, which runs Currys.
It owns the Valentine South Retail Park in Lincoln, which made headlines in January 2019 after shoppers were fined for walking over to a neighbouring retail park to shop there as well.
At the time, the council instructed UKCPS, the site management company, to stop punishing customers.
The other assets the council owns are a warehouse in Stowmarket, Suffolk, an office in Southampton, a warehouse in Redditch and offices in Northampton.
