Seven sites have been sold by Southampton City Council over the past year for a total of more than £15million.

The assets located across the city include freeholds for a student accommodation block, retail space and industrial units, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.

The local authority has also sold two properties outside Southampton in the form of a warehouse in Northamptonshire and a vacant office in Cambridge.

Decisions were taken on the commercial investment portfolio sites as part of the asset development and disposal programme (ADDP).

Cllr Sarah Bogle said the programme, which is due to run for five years, was aiming to support and improve the council’s financial sustainability, economic development and asset management.

The cabinet member for economic development said: “It is becoming a route to helping with our regeneration ambitions and our economic development ambitions because we own a lot of assets.

“We are going to continue to do so but we want to have the right assets and use them much better and manage them a lot better, which I think historically I think we haven’t always done.”

The seven assets sold under the ADDP in 2024/25 were:

  • 11, 13 and 17 Above Bar Street – retail units, freehold disposal
  • 134/136 Above Bar Street – retail unit, freehold disposal, auction sale
  • Albert Road North – Travis Perkins site, freehold disposal
  • Floating Bridge Road – industrial/warehouse site, freehold disposal, auction sale
  • Houndwell Place – student accommodation, freehold disposal
  • 3 Ely Road, Cambridge – vacant office site, lease surrender
  • Unit 50, Warth Park Way, Raunds, Wellington, Northamptonshire – industrial/warehouse site, freehold disposal

The individual sale prices could not be disclosed, the local authority said, but the total receipt was more than £15million.

The Northamptonshire warehouse, which operates as a DPD Depot, appears to have been sold for less than the council purchased it for eight years ago.

Previously published council documents show it was acquired for £8.53million in 2017.

In 2020/21, it was delivering an annual rental income of £477,304 and had a valuation of £8.73million.

Documents published as part of the 2025/26 budget setting state it delivered a capital receipt of £7.91million when it was sold at some point in the past year.

In some cases the freehold for an asset was acquired by the current leaseholder, which officers said allowed these businesses to make long term plans with potential further investment coming into the city.

This included the established Travis Perkins site in Albert Road North.

A representative from the Travis Perkins business said: “We’re pleased to have been able to complete this strategic property acquisition, with the purchase of the council’s freehold interest in our site at Albert Road North.

“This purchase will help to safeguard this well established Travis Perkins branch, and enable us to continue to serve builders and other tradespeople locally with the materials they need for their projects, big or small.”

Savills, who have been commissioned to market assets for the council, listed the hammer price for the Above Bar Street and Floating Bridge Road assets sold at auction as £253,000 and £635,000, respectively.

The freehold auction listings said 134/136 Above Bar Street is on a long lease to Panther (VAT) Properties Ltd, with sub-tenants Toni & Guy and Sharkey’s.

Floating Bridge Road is let to Biffa Waste Sevices Ltd for 99 years from 1986, with the site is occupied by Thrifty Car Hire under a sub-tenancy.

The 11, 13 and 17 Above Bar Street freehold included the unit occupied by Yorkshire Building Society (YBS).

A YBS spokesperson said their services will continue to operate from the current site.

ADDP manager Julianna Clark said the council had secured “good” capital receipts, with some above initial estimate valuations.

“We are not just picking an asset out of the hundreds that we have got,” Ms Clark said.

“We have done a sound financial evaluation and this is done based on the fact is the council position better to sell the asset now or to keep for the long term and that is what we call the NPV – the net present value – over a long period of 25 years.

“These particular assets that we chose are saying it is better for you to cash the capital receipt because in the longer term you could potentially hold it for a disbenefit.”

The first asset sold under the ADDP was One Guildhall Square in the city centre to the University of Southampton, delivering a capital receipt of £12.75million in late 2023/24.

Details on sites being put forward under the programme have not made public prior to their disposal, which has attracted criticism from opposition councillors.

The Labour administration said confidentiality was necessary to ensure best value for the taxpayer could be achieved.

The council currently has a flexibility from government to use the receipts from the capital sales to fund revenue costs in its budget.

Initially this capitalisation direction from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was in place for 2024/25, however, it has been extended for a further 12 months.

Alongside sales, the council has also made decisions to retain sites and explore development or regeneration opportunities for others.

Cllr Bogle said the council was looking to move towards “purposeful investment” and being more proactive about the management of assets.

“We have been on a bit of a journey and we are learning as we go as well so this is not easy for anyone,” Cllr Bogle added.

“I’m not in the business of just selling off whatever.

“It is all about will it be in our interest to do so and I’m hoping at some point we can acquire assets as well as dispose.”