£4.2 million in property investments by Oportunitas Ltd
Between Nov 2014 and Oct 2018, Oportunitas Limited, a company solely owned by Folkestone & Hythe District Council (F&HDC) has spent £4,266,592 on acquiring eleven properties in this district and Dover district.
They have recently acquired two new properties, one at 84 Sidney Street Folkestone (below left), two doors up from the notorious 80 Sidney Street, and No 1 Claremont Rd Folkestone (below right). These like the rest of the properties will be rented out at market price to earn an income for the council.
All the properties in our district are based in Folkestone and Oportunitas has not looked to acquire properties in Hythe or New Romney. Such a Folkestone centric viewpoint by the company is naive, short sighted and discriminatory we believe.
Only last week the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) suggested local authorities were investing in commercial properties disproportionately to their resources. They raise further concerns that councils in England are putting public funds at “unnecessary or unquantified risk” when borrowing to invest in commercial property.
CIPFA will “issue more guidance and will make it clear that these investment approaches are not consistent with the requirements of fiscal sustainability, prudence and affordability,”
The future of Oportunitas Ltd came before the Cabinet on the 28th Feb 2018. The approved investment in the company for property acquisitions was £4,787,500. At that time Oportunitas owned the following:
On the 12th June 2018 Oportunitas added 84 Sidney Street – Folkestone which has four flats at a cost of £385,000. Then on the 10th Oct 2018 it purchased No 1 Claremont Rd Folkestone for £350,000 according to the land registry. (There would of course be fees to pays as well. How much these were precisely is currently unknown)
From the profit and loss account we can determine that presently Oportunitas Ltd cover their direct costs but do not generate sufficient surpluses to meet its overheads, according to Appendix 1 of report C-17-83. The report was about the future of Oportunitas Ltd which set out three options, they being:
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Do nothing – not recommended in report
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Close Oportunitas Ltd – not recommended in the report
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Refinancing & Scaling Up – recommended in the report.
The Cabinet followed the recommendation in the report and voted accordingly, avoiding any irrational behaviour. A cash injection by F&HDC of £6.9m was agreed to assist Oportunitas Ltd becoming sustainable. F&HDC said this would provide:
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“a modest but useful return to the General Fund of around £300k per year, or 2.6% on the capital employed.”
As you rightly say, they can’t get the small detail of their name right and the fact Dr Susan Priest is now Head of Paid Services and no longer a Corporate Director. What guarantee do we have of this publicly subsidised company making any money in nine years?
I fear it may become a black hole for swallowing public cash and giving nowt in return, except excuses by a bunch of amateurs,who do not know what their Council name is, or what position they even hold.
What would happen if these councilors failed to be re-elected?
They would be replaced by Cllrs who had been elected.
What would happen [when] these councilors fail to be re-elected?