Wednesday 13 November 2024
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Nottingham

Nottingham City Council announces sell off of Embankment pub building

Nottingham City Council has announced its decision to put the property known as The Embankment, located at 282–284 Arkwright Street, up for sale as part of its ongoing Recovery and Improvement Plan.

Note: The pub continues to trade as normal as a popular and successful local business and community hub – the decision relates to the building not the pub operation.

This move is aimed at reducing financial liabilities and generating funds for future initiatives. The property, which is a Grade II listed public house, has been deemed surplus to requirements and will be disposed of as part of the Council’s strategic asset review.

The decision comes as part of a wider effort by Nottingham City Council to improve its financial standing.

This is in response to the Council’s 2022 Recovery and Improvement Plan, which identified various properties within its Trading Account that could be considered for sale to generate capital.

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The Embankment, which is let to a single occupant in the licensed leisure sector ( Castle Rock Brewery) – was highlighted during the Council’s Asset Rationalisation Review as a potential candidate for disposal.

The building itself is an iconic local landmark, rich in history.

The Embankment pub has served as a community hub for years, yet, according to council documents, its continued retention presents significant risks.

According to the report, the property does not currently meet EPC standards and is at risk of non-compliance with future environmental regulations due to its lack of certification, which could add substantial costs. The existing lease includes break clauses for the tenant in both 2030 and 2040, which present uncertainty in terms of future income for the Council.

One of the notable features of the property is its extensive car park, which, as stated in council reviews, represents an opportunity for repurposing by future owners. The Council also noted that the pub’s sector—the licensed leisure sector—has been identified as “volatile” from an investment perspective, leading to a decision that holding onto the property would not be strategic for the Council’s interests.

The report makes clear that this disposal will generate a significant, though undisclosed, capital receipt. As is standard practice in such Council disposals, the valuation details and the expected revenue have been kept exempt from public view under the Local Government Act 1972 due to commercial sensitivity. The receipt from the sale will be classified as a corporate capital receipt, in line with the Council’s Capital Strategy, and will be used for funding future initiatives or to offset current financial pressures.

 

The disposal of The Embankment forms part of Nottingham City Council’s broader agenda to rationalise its property portfolio as it aims to cut costs and boost efficiency.

Retaining The Embankment would have required significant investment for ongoing repairs and compliance works, which the Council has deemed financially unviable. The Council’s portfolio management team noted that retaining the property would require capital expenditure that they believe would not yield sufficient return, describing the property as “likely to underperform in the future” as an asset.

Furthermore, the Council has noted that doing nothing with the property would involve missed opportunities to convert it into a valuable capital receipt. To ensure maximum exposure and competition, it is likely that the property will be disposed of through an auction process—a method known to provide greater certainty of sale and to define clear timelines for disposal. Dedicated specialists with commercial property disposal experience will be allocated to ensure the sale proceeds smoothly and achieves the best possible value.

 

There has been no response from the local ward councillors regarding the proposed sale.

The Councillors for the affected Meadows and St Ann’s wards—Michael Edwards and Eunice Regan—were consulted, but as of the latest updates, no formal feedback had been received.

Legal advice provided to the Council noted that there were no significant legal risks in pursuing the sale, provided that the disposal complies with statutory requirements, such as Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972. It was recommended that the property should be fully registered to appeal to the largest number of buyers, as part of it currently remains unregistered. The Finance and Procurement teams also provided input, indicating that there are no procurement concerns with the sale proceeding through an auction.

Castle Rock has been approached for comment.

View public document for this decision

The decision goes ahead on 20 October if not *’called in’ by councillors for further scrutiny.

* A “call in” is a key element of the scrutiny function and it relates to the right of Members to “call in” for examination an executive decision that has been made but not yet implemented.

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