Warrington mulls ‘possible disposal’ of Birchwood Park

The council has agreed to “consider offers” for the 120-acre business park it acquired for £200m in 2017 and appoint legal advisors and property agents to manage a potential sale.

Minutes from a cabinet meeting in April published this week state that the council has approved funding for “a marketing exercise for Birchwood Park” and “to consider offers for a possible disposal” of the 1.25m sq ft asset.

The minutes add that “this is not a proposal to sell Birchwood Park at this stage” and that any disposal would be subject to a further report to cabinet.

Warrington Council is under pressure to sell assets after the previous government raised concerns about the authority’s exposure to the real estate market and £1.8bn debt pile.

Last year, Warrington sold a 380,000 sq ft shed in Haydock let to Movianto to Clarion Capital Partners for £51m and now seems to be weighing up a deal to offload Birchwood Park.

Any disposal of Birchwood Park “is proposed for economic regeneration, growth, debt reduction, and financial capital receipt purposes”, the minutes state.

Warrington Council underwent a best value inspection last year and the outcome is yet to be made public.

Speaking at a Place North West event last year, Warrington Council chief executive Steven Broomhead defended the council’s £1.8bn debt pile, describing it as an “investment”.

Warrington paid around £200m to Oaktree Capital Management and Patrizia for Birchwood Park in 2017. At the time, it was one of the largest property investments ever made by a local authority.