Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Property Services and Development

(Listing Officer: A Hunt, email: adam.hunt@coventry.gov.uk)

Further to Minute 110 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Director of Property Services and Development setting out the commercially confidential matters relating to the City Council entering onto an Implementation Agreement regarding the Lower Precinct Shopping Centre.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1)  Approves the entering into of an Implementation Agreement with Royal London (based on the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 1 to the report) that will require the Council to either:

• The full surrender of the Lower Precinct head lease (including Coventry Market) from Royal London to the Council with Royal London paying the Council a surrender premium (being the sum identified in the report); or

•  A surrender and regrant of part of the Lower Precinct head lease whereby the Council gets full ownership of Coventry Market and associated service yards with Royal London retaining a lease of the Lower Precinct shopping centre (on terms set out in the report)

2)  Delegates authority to the Director of Property Services and Development, following consultation with the Interim Chief Executive (Section 151 Officer), the Chief Legal Officer and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to undertake and be satisfied with the necessary due diligence and negotiate the associated legal agreements in order to enter into the Implementation Agreement referenced above.

3)  Approves a budget of up to £200k (to be funded from existing Property budgets) to be used for the costs of the due diligence associated with bringing into effect the recommendations set out in this report.

4)  Notes that a further report will be brought back to Cabinet in due course seeking the necessary authorisation as to which of the two options outlined above under the terms of the Implementation Agreement the Council will enter in to.