Real estate advisor hired for £200,000 as Nottingham City Council moots sale of HQ
An real estate adviser has been hired for £200,000 to review whether Nottingham City Council needs its current office buildings.
The Labour-led authority operates from Loxley House in Station Street after buying it from finance company Capital One in 2009 but around a quarter is empty despite efforts to find tenants.
Upkeep costs for the headquarters were estimated at around £1.4m over the last year while documents show the authority will appoint a real estate advisor to review its office estate at an expected cost of £200,000.
Beverley Gouveia director of corporate landlord and economic development said the council held a substantial operational property portfolio and needed a specialist review to assess whether it could support current and future workforce requirements service transformation and further rationalisation utilisation and savings.
Ms Gouveia said: “Changes in working practices service transformation programmes hybrid working arrangements and the potential impacts of Local Government Reorganisation present an opportunity to review the council’s existing office estate to inform whether the portfolio remains sufficient and capable of meeting future service delivery requirements.”
She said the review would identify opportunities to improve use rationalise the estate reduce costs and make savings while providing evidence-based recommendations on individual assets workforce accommodation and the optimum administrative office footprint.
The council vacated Loxley House's top two floors in 2022 under sweeping budget cuts and a tenant now occupies the fourth floor while the third remains vacant.
After the council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 the government appointed commissioners to oversee improvements and lead commissioner Tony McArdle suggested it should consider selling Loxley House.
A council spokesperson previously said: “The council is committed to ensuring its buildings are used as efficiently as possible and continue to provide value for money for Nottingham residents.”
A spokesperson said of this latest development: “Loxley House is currently almost 75 per cent occupied and as part of our ongoing work to ensure our assets are being used as efficiently as possible we are commissioning a review of our administrative estate to help ensure it continues to meet the needs of the organisation both now and in the future.”