Beyond the Fire Sale – How Smarter Asset Strategies Can Rescue Council Finances and Rebuild
By Andy Starkie, Director, ICC
Note - Our team will be in Birmingham for Public Finance Live on 24 and 25 June. If you are going and would like to catch up with us, you can reach out to Andy at [email protected]
Local authorities face an uncomfortable truth: the strategy of selling off public assets to plug revenue gaps is not only unsustainable but is actively eroding their ability to shape places and serve communities.
In 2025–26, many councils will make the hard choice of relying on MHCLG permission to use capital receipts to fund day-to-day services – an option that was once considered exceptional. These one-off sales of public property may prevent bankruptcy today, but they also accelerate long-term decline.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Strategic asset optimisation is one of the most powerful tools councils have. Done well, it can generate sustainable revenue, build economic resilience and transform local places.
When assets are understood as levers of change, they can unlock regeneration, housing, enterprise and community value. They are more than bricks and mortar – they are vehicles for local prosperity. But when mishandled, they can become cautionary tales of missed opportunity and misjudged short-termism. Fire sales don’t yield value when assets are disposed of in haste, without strategic oversight, and at a loss. With property and finance teams frequently working in silos, councils risk undermining their financial future while losing the very levers they need to drive local regeneration.
Inner Circle Consulting (ICC) believes there is a better way. Through our Sustain methodology, we help councils quickly assess the strengths and risks in their current asset base, providing rapid insight and clear pathways to financial and place-based sustainability. This allows councils to make smarter decisions rooted in long-term value, not reactive short-termism.
A key part of this is reimagining urban asset management. Underused spaces can become thriving, self-sustaining communities. Regeneration projects can fuel continuous reinvestment. Council land and buildings can be repurposed to meet social and economic goals – delivering housing, enabling enterprise, providing cultural and civic value.
Our multidisciplinary team of public sector experts work hand-in hand with councils to design these strategies. We bridge the gap between finance and place, between policy ambition and commercial reality. Whether it’s unlocking brownfield sites for housing, retrofitting civic buildings for energy efficiency, or turning local centres into 15-minute neighbourhoods, our approach is grounded in impact, value and sustainability.
ICC is working with several councils in financial distress to provide rapid assessments of risks and opportunities and design roadmaps to stability. But beyond financial diagnostics, our Sustain methodology supports a strategic rethink – guiding councils to align their assets with their vision for local growth, equity, and impact. We need to stop using capitalisation directions as a financial sticking plaster and start thinking about regenerative systems that work for the long-term.
It’s worth saying here that newly formed local authorities, particularly those emerging from Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), should be wary of the temptation to cash in on public assets to service inherited debt obligations. Doing so risks sacrificing long-term capacity for short-term relief. These councils have a unique opportunity to build from the ground up with sustainability, integration and resilience in mind.
There is no easy answer to the local government funding crisis. But there is a better question - how can councils use what they have, to create what they need?
The answer lies in asset-led transformation – not asset stripping. Let’s stop selling short and start building forward.