A report to Cabinet on Wednesday 21 January shows that Thurrock Council has now recovered £661m from past investments as part of its ongoing work to reduce debt and stabilise the council’s finances following its financial collapse in 2022.
The Cabinet report sets out the progress made so far and the work still underway to divest the council of its investments and says that a further £131m is expected to be recovered in the coming years, meaning around £800m is aimed for recovery by 2030.
So far, 63% of the original investment portfolio has been divested and the money returned has been used to reduce council debt owed to the government, which in turn reduces the amount the council spends on interest payments. Interest on the debt recovered to date had been costing the council around £35m each year. By reducing this burden, the council is taking important steps towards improving long term financial stability.
Cllr Valerie Morris-Cook, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, said: “We know residents want to see the council take every possible step to recover the public money that was lost through bad investments in the past. This work is complex but we are working as effectively as we can to recoup as much money as possible.
“We have made significant recoveries already, with more to come, and have plans in place to divest the remaining investments in a way that maximises the amount recovered.
“The money recovered has been used to pay down our debt, and by reducing the council’s debt we are able to reduce interest payments.
“We are also working hard to recover money through litigation against Rockfire and its owner Liam Kavanagh, they are far from off-the-hook here. The council is vigorously pursuing civil claims against them in relation to deception and the misappropriation of public funds and will robustly pursue all action where there is strong legal advice and a clear cost benefit case. The Council will also benefit from claims brought by the liquidators for the Kavanagh group of companies against Kavanagh and other parties, as the companies’ primary creditor.”