Pyramids and Grange Shopping Centre acquisition
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
Can I have information on the following:
How much did Wirral Council pay to acquire the Pyramids and the Grange shopping centres?
What reserves and funds were used to fund this acquisition? Can I have a breakdown of that funding?
What was the amount that has been or will be borrowed from the Public Works Loans Board to fund this acquisition?
What were the terms of those loans?
Reference - https://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/ieDecisi...
Yours faithfully,
Ed Barnes
Dear Mr Barnes
Please see below Wirral Council’s response to your recent FOI enquiry. We
apologise for the delay in responding.
How much did Wirral Council pay to acquire the Pyramids and the Grange
shopping centres?
In respect of the purchase price for the Grange and Pyramids shopping
centres, we consider this to be commercially sensitive and decline to
respond under S43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. S43(2) FOIA
states information is exempt where it would, or would be likely to,
prejudice commercial interests of the Council or another person. As this
is a qualified exemption, we have considered whether the public interest
in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing
the information. In reaching our conclusion we have considered the factors
in favour of and against disclosure.
The Council believes in promoting transparency and accountability for
decisions taken. We recognise that the spending of public money is a
serious concern in the current financial climate and that it is in the
public interest to share information that would allow the public to
understand how money is being spent and what services are being provided.
However, we strongly believe that disclosing this sensitive information
would damage the commercial interests of the vendor, Mars Pension Fund,
having regard to its marketing of other shopping centres within its
ownership. Whilst eventually the price will be recorded on land registry
records, the registration will not be for some time, by which time the
commercial sensitivities referred to above will be historic.
What reserves and funds were used to fund this acquisition? Can I have a
breakdown of that funding?
Acquisitions have been funded from capital programme borrowing. The
capital programme is financed on a block basis so there is no specific
loan against a specific asset. Lease income (where applicable) is used to
cover the cost of borrowing
What was the amount that has been or will be borrowed from the Public
Works Loans Board to fund this acquisition? The capital programme is
financed on a block basis so there is no specific loan against a specific
asset.
What were the terms of those loans? N/A
If you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled,
you may ask for an internal review by emailing
[1][Wirral Borough Council request email]. If you remain unhappy with the
outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to
the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner
can be contacted at: [2]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [3][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [4]www.wirral.gov.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
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References
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1. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]
2. https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
3. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]
4. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/
John Jones left an annotation ()
Is the purchase price in the council report referred to in this article incorrect then?
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv...
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Pyramids and Grange Shopping Centre acquisition'.
You have cited the likelihood of prejudice to a third party's commercial interests. As you may be aware, ICO guidance states "When a public authority wants to withhold information on the basis that to disclose the information would or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of a third party, it must have evidence that this does in fact represent the concerns of that third party. It is not sufficient for the public authority to speculate on the prejudice which may be caused to the third party by the disclosure."
Please review this decision, and, if the exemption is upheld, demonstrate stronger evidence that this disclosure 'would, or would be likely to' prejudice the concerns of the third party.
As you may also be aware, ICO guidance states that when applying a Section 43 exemption, an authority "must show that because [the information] is commercially sensitive, disclosure would be, or would be likely to be, prejudicial to the commercial activities of a person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity)".
This response does not appear to have included such details instead only referring to the marketing of other shopping centres under the ownership of the Mars Pension Fund, so I am also requesting that you conduct an internal review, and, if the exemption is upheld, show how the release would be prejudicial to commercial activities, and of whom.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
Yours faithfully,
Ed Barnes
Dear Mr Barnes
Please accept our apologies for the delay in completing an internal review
of the Council's original response to your information request.
In your email of 8 November 2024 you disputed the application of S43(2)
commercial interests exemption, in relation to the purchase price of the
Pyramids shopping centre. It had been the Council's position that this
information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the
vendor, Mars Pension Fund.
We have undertaken a thorough review and sought advice on this matter and
can confirm that the Council wishes to amend its original response and
provide the following answer :
Q. How much did Wirral Council pay to acquire the Pyramids and the Grange
shopping centres?
A. £10,000,000
We trust this concludes your request for an internal review, as you have
not raised any concerns in relation to the rest of the response provided
to you. We note that you have raised a complaint with the ICO in relation
to the delay and trust you will notify them accordingly.
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Finance – Digital Data and Technology
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [1][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [2]www.wirral.gov.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]
2. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/
John Jones left an annotation ()
Perhaps of some related interest -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...
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John Jones left an annotation ()
An ongoing foi request of a similar nature may be of connected interest to anyone viewing this one -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...