Title

BUSINESS

Council scraps controversial LOBOs

Newham LBC has agreed to scrap its controversial lender option borrower option (LOBO) loans with Barclays.

Newham LBC has agreed to scrap its controversial lender option borrower option (LOBO) loans with Barclays.

The council said it hoped to save up to £94m by switching to normal fixed rate borrowing.

Under the new financial agreement with a major high street bank, the council expects to save up to £1.6m per year on interest payments over a 60-year period. 

The deal will also exterminate the threat of Barclays changing the interest rate levels at regular intervals over the remaining lifetime of the loans.  

An investigation in 2015 found 240 councils were persuaded to take out £15bn in high interest loans amid claims officers in local government did not understand the risks involved. 

Newham's cabinet member for finance, Cllr Lester Hudson, said: ‘We took out these types of LOBOs as they represented the best deal for the council at the time and have saved us millions of pounds in interest payments. 

‘They were part of our balanced and award-winning strategy, which includes a balanced approach to risk.

‘As a council and in line with good stewardship, we are always working to reduce the cost of our borrowing. 

‘We have taken independent legal and financial advice on this agreement and it is now the right time for us to restructure these loans.'

Newham's move has been welcomed by pressure group Debt Resistance UK, but campaigner Ludovica Rogers said: ‘Until Newham LBC puts the terms of this deal negotiated in secret into the public realm we can't comment in particular on loan breakage costs, interest rates and loan restructuring fees.'

BUSINESS

Budget: The effects on combined and strategic authorities

By Tiffany Cloynes | 05 December 2025

Tiffany Cloynes looks at at the financial implications of the Budget for combined authorities and strategic authorities. She says that while the introduction...

BUSINESS

EXCLUSIVE: Tower Hamlets improving but risk of 'optimism bias'

By Paul Marinko | 04 December 2025

Tower Hamlets LBC has improved and continues to show ‘strong financial management’ but a tendency toward ‘optimism bias’ remains, according to a sector-led p...

BUSINESS

LGR in Greater Essex: An economic imperative and a political choice

By Cllr Daniel Cowan | 02 December 2025

As the Government announces a consultation on the future of local government in Essex, Daniel Cowan sets out why a five-unitary model is the right one for th...

BUSINESS

Thank You for the Music: how the public profits from venue legacy

By Amy Casterton | 01 December 2025

When investment informs both a purpose-driven programme and building design, venues will leave lasting, community-focused legacies, say Paul Kitson and Amy C...

Popular articles by Laura Sharman