Woking faces £1.2bn deficit as it declares bankruptcy over failed commercial investments
The Guardian|June 08, 2023
Woking council declared it was in effect bankrupt yesterday after admitting a risky investment spree involving hotels and skyscrapers overseen by its former Conservative administration had left it facing a deficit of £1.2bn.
Richard Partington
Woking faces £1.2bn deficit as it declares bankruptcy over failed commercial investments

In what is thought to be the biggest financial failure in local government history, the Surrey council said it had issued a section 114 notice in response to "unprecedented financial challenges" facing the town. A section 114 notice is in effect an admission that a council does not have the resources to meet current expenditure, with Woking joining Thurrock, Croydon and Slough as the latest English councils to run into trouble after ploughing cash into risky commercial investments.

Woking said that against its available core funding of £16m in the 2023-24 financial year, the council faced a deficit of £1.2bn.

This story is from the June 08, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the June 08, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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