Council's Property Company Loses £800k, Faces Government Intervention

It's April 30th.

This is Lester News today.

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Harborough District Council in Lestershire faces a government intervention warning after

their property company lost over 800K in taxpayer money.

The firm Harborough District Commercial Services owns retail spots in Market Harborough, least

to Tesco, in sports direct, plus some flats above.

But without its own bank account, losses got mixed with council funds, creating an accounting

nightmare auditors can verify.

Set up back in 2019 to generate profits for local services.

The company instead saw its value crash by one time 1M.

Pandemic hits and retail sector struggles fueled losses of 663K in 2023-24, plus another

157K the following year.

Retail values dropped, the residential assets rose about 30%.

Local staff blamed turnover for failing to set up a bank account, and they've spent

an extra 150K on emergency finance help.

Auditors from Grand Thornton are issuing a disclaimer on the council's accounts for

the second straight year slamming the lack of basic bank.

Reconciliation since March 31, 2024, they're giving the council until April to sort the

books or escalate to the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and local government.

Investments from the old conservative leadership call it a white elephant that never should

have happened, while current leaders promise fixes such as, team restructures, and new systems

by June.

On top of that, an internal audit flag unsafe hotel placements for homeless folks without

proper safety checks, though the council insists.

Providers handle fire compliance, a report on the company's fate heads to cabinet in July

as they hustle to steady the ship.