Watch: Cadaema’s David Parrett on getting a grip on council estates
David Parrett, Director at Cadaema Consulting Services, talks to LocalGov about why councils lack basic data on their buildings and what they can do about it.
Trafford Council gets interest-free loan from combined authority
31/03/2026 Trafford Council is set to receive an interest-free loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to address a multi-million-pound budget gap. |
Lloyds social housing ad branded ‘misleading’
22/08/2025 A Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) advert stating that the lender had provided £19.5bn to social housing projects has been banned by the advertising watchdog. |
Wealth fund backs social housing retrofit loans
03/03/2025 The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has announced plans to guarantee £250m of loans to housing associations to support the retrofitting of social housing. |
Brighton to take on £51m debt from i360 tower
27/01/2025 Brighton and Hove City Council has agreed to take on £51m of debt from the i360 tower after the firm behind the attraction went into administration. |
UK Infrastructure Bank agrees £17m loan for council’s net zero projects
14/08/2024 The UK Infrastructure Bank has announced a £17m loan facility to West Suffolk Council to deliver a programme of net zero projects. |
Isle of Wight debt accounts for 42% of annual budget
30/01/2024 Isle of Wight Council has insisted it borrows to invest in essential projects after revealing its debt amounts to 42% of the authority’s annual budget. |
Plymouth reaches impasse with auditor
30/08/2023 Auditors could issue a qualified opinion on Plymouth City Council’s accounts after questioning its methods to pay off a multi-million pound pension deficit. |
Coventry City Council £1m loan at risk after culture trust goes bust
01/03/2023 A trust set up to promote culture in Coventry after the city's year as City of Culture in 2021 has gone into administration putting a £1m council loan at risk. |
Woking Borough Council warns of possible S114
22/02/2023 Woking Borough Council has warned that it is ‘in the territory’ of effective bankruptcy as it struggles with over £2bn of debt. |
Brighton grapples with £44m 'high risk' loan
10/02/2023 Brighton & Hove City Council will have to put aside millions of pounds every year to cover a £44m loan labelled ‘high risk’ by auditors. |
MPs warn of ‘eye-watering’ levels of fraud in COVID scheme
27/04/2022 The Government is ‘complacent’ about preventing ‘eye-watering’ levels of fraud in the COVID Bounceback Loan Scheme (CBLS), new report by the PAC concludes. |
London borough settles LOBO loan dispute
21/02/2022 Newham Council has reached a multimillion pound deal with Barclays Bank to settle its long-running Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loan dispute. |
Liverpool Council refinances £65m LOBO loan
02/12/2021 Liverpool City Council has completed a debt refinancing deal in a move that will save £15.8m. |
Developers offered loans to build new schools
10/10/2019 Housing developers will be given loans from the Government to build new schools before new properties are finished. |
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Government announces £155m of loans to build housing
25/06/2019 Loans worth £155m have been announced to create 660 new homes in Wimbledon and Southampton. |
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Councils urged to work with credit unions to prevent homelessness
17/06/2019 Councils could save millions of pounds by partnering with credit unions to offer interest free loans to families at risk of eviction, a new study has found. |
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Council to save £143m after ending LOBO loan
07/05/2019 Newham Council is set to £143m after successfully terminating its Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loans with NatWest bank. |
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Whitehall lends partnership over £7m for Birmingham development
21/03/2019 The Government has agreed to a £7.45m loan in order to kick start the development of a brownfield site in Birmingham city centre. |
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Leicestershire CC recovers £5m loan from struggling Northants
03/01/2019 Leicestershire County Council has recovered its £5m loan to cash-strapped Northamptonshire after concerns the latter would not be able to repay the money. |
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Councils could save £16bn by refinancing LOBO loans, research finds
29/11/2018 Councils are failing to save £16bn by not replacing their expensive LOBO loans with ones from the Government, new research has warned. |
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Kent CC pays back LOBO loan early
02/11/2018 Kent County Council has reached an agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland to pay back its LOBO loan debt early. |
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Kensington and Chelsea credit union ‘goes bust’
10/10/2018 A credit union in Kensington and Chelsea which included several former residents of Grenfell Tower has gone bust. |
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Council takes football club to court over £80,000 loan disagreement
07/09/2018 A council has launched legal action against a football club over money for a new stand which it says should have been repaid. |
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Council to approve accounts after LOBO loan delay
24/08/2018 Lancashire County Council’s accounts are set to be approved after a temporary delay caused by a complex £50m loan deal. |
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Councils sue Barclays over controversial LOBO loans
16/07/2018 Barclays are being sued by 14 local authorities over allegations it committed fraud over loans to councils. |
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i360 asks to delay loan repayments to council
07/06/2018 The i360, Brighton’s seafront observation tower, has asked Brighton & Hove City Council if it can reduce its loan repayments. |
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Homes England loans £22.4m to build Cambridge homes
01/06/2018 The Government today announced a new multi-million pound deal that will deliver 1,300 homes for Cambridge. |
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Blackpool considers lending £27.1m to NHS Trust
16/05/2018 Blackpool Council has proposed loaning a local NHS trust over £27m to help the health body invest in frontline services. |
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Campaigners call for inquiry into councils' 'toxic' loans
25/09/2017 Residents have raised objections against risky high-interest loans in 46 local authorities, campaigners have revealed. |
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Council in row with cancer drugs firm
26/05/2017 Liverpool City Council has appointed administrators to a pharmaceutical company which was loaned £2m by the authority. |
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Council to save £94m after axing high interest loans
28/02/2017 Newham Council has struck a deal to scrap its lender option borrower option (LOBO) loans and switch to normal fixed rate borrowing in a move that will save up to £94m. |
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Audit of Northampton Town loan to be revealed by council
18/11/2016 Northampton BC has announced that it will receive a report from auditors PWC into a loan to Northampton Town Football Club at a special meeting next Monday. |
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Councils should provide alternative to payday lenders
12/09/2016 Local authorities should provide alternatives to payday lenders through credit unions, according to a new report. |
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Barclays first bank to scrap LOBO loans
01/09/2016 Barclays has become the first bank to scrap high interest Lender Option, Borrower Option (LOBO) loans for councils. |
