English councils went on property spending spree to offset cuts

Public spending watchdog fears they could be over-exposed in a recession or property crash

English councils went on a massive 6.6bn commercial property spending spree over the past three years, buying office buildings and shopping centres to offset the impact of government funding cuts, the public spending watchdog has revealed.

The scale of the rush to acquire revenue-generating investments to fund council services has left many local authorities potentially badly exposed in the event of an economic recession or a property crash, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.