Municipal trading
The Local Government Act 2003 provided local authorities with wider powers to charge and trade giving them the opportunity to use their enterprise and initiative to secure revenue, provide greater value for money and increase choice for their residents.
Since the introduction of these new powers we have advised local authorities on their use across a diverse range of services including handyman services, tourism, care services, art galleries, leisure, fibre optic capacity, and professional services.
We can assist our public sector clients identify areas where the charging and trading powers can potentially benefit them and we will provide pragmatic advice to enable our clients to get the most out of such powers.
We appreciate that local authorities are continuing to familiarise themselves with these relatively new powers and we have the experience and commercial awareness to guide our clients through their use and put them into practice.
Although the trading powers regime can be complex and are relatively unknown, we advise on the various company structure options available to local authorities and can assist local authorities in complying with the regulatory regime including the preparation of business cases.
Our advice on municipal trading is supplemented by experience in other related considerations such as the capital finance regime, prudential borrowing, state aid and competition law.
Key contact: Paul McDermott