A council that invested almost 40 times its budget in property must ‘understand and manage risk and its impact on future financial performance and sustainability,’ a Local Government Association (LGA) finance peer challenge has said.

Spelthorne BC, which has an annual budget of £22m, has invested £914m in commercial assets since 2016.#

It has made a return of £50m, which, after costs, has given a £10m surplus that it has used to spend on services.