Issue - meetings

That (A) investment of £10m in each of the two selected property funds now detailed be approved;

(B)     before final agreement to invest in actual funds, the Council will ensure that the most up to date legal advice about investment is considered; and

(C)    at the time of investment, the Director of Finance and Support Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, is delegated the powers to sign off the specific terms of the investment as long as these are not significantly different from those terms outlined in this report.

The Executive Member for Finance submitted a report recommending two property investment funds.  In his absence, the Leader presented the report to the meeting.  He also cautioned Members that Essential Reference Paper ‘C’ of the report submitted contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  He expressed his wish to consider the matter in the public arena as far as possible.  However, if Members wished to ask detailed questions relating to this document, the meeting could exclude the press and public.

At this point (7.45 pm), the meeting was adjourned in order that further copies of the exempt Essential Reference Paper C’ could be obtained, as it had become evident that this had been wrongly omitted from the agenda papers for all Members.  At 7.53 pm, the meeting reconvened.

The Leader reminded Members of the rationale for these proposals and the Council’s need to maximise its income.  He explained the process undertaken for selecting the funds now detailed in the report submitted.

A number of Members asked questions and made comments.  The Leader responded by confirming that the income generated could be used to support the Council’s revenue budget and that the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) reflected this.  He explained the fees structure and the role of Capita in advising the Council.  The investments would be in accordance with the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy which indicated the types of investments and criteria to be met.

The Leader also confirmed that assurances had been received that no single investor was so large that their withdrawal could impact adversely on the funds overall.  There were also safeguards in place with the flexibility provided by recommendation (C), as the lead in time was up to 9 months and the situation could change.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) investment of £10m in each of the two selected property funds now detailed be approved;

(B)      before final agreement to invest in actual funds, the Council will ensure that the most up to date legal advice about investment is considered; and

(C)      at the time of investment, the Director of Finance and Support Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, is delegated the powers to sign off the specific terms of the investment as long as these are not significantly different from those terms outlined in this report.