Warrington Council has issued a £150m bond deal to help finance its town centre regeneration plans.
It is believed to be the first local authority outside London to enter the bond market in the last decade.
The council will retain £100m through the deal to access future funding and has sold £50m to a UK insurance company. Warrington estimates it will save £12m in interest costs through the initial £50m bond sale.
It will use the bulk of the proceeds to fund a £100m town centre development.
Councillor Russ Bowden, executive board member for corporate finance, said: ‘This is a great example of the public and private sectors coming together and delivering an innovative solution to bear down on borrowing costs. I hope this is a model local government can develop.
'The bond structure has enabled us to save on our borrowing costs, diversify our borrowing portfolio and promote the new commercial ethos that the council operates under.’
