Birmingham City Council to take control of NEC management company
BIRMINGHAM City Council is set to take total control of the NEC’s management company.
An audacious move to buy out Birmingham Chamber of Commerce’s remaining financial interest in the group will give the council sole ownership of the National Exhibition Centre, the National Indoor Arena and the International Convention Centre.
Cabinet members are expected on Monday to agree to pay the Chamber a lump sum in return for 5,000 Category A shares.
If the deal goes through, the Chamber would still have half of the directors on the NEC Ltd board, but would not qualify for dividend payments. Significantly, if the council decided to dispose of some or all of its shareholding at a future date the Chamber would gain no financial benefit.
Conservative city council leader Mike Whitby has made it clear that he will not sell “the family jewels” of the NEC.
But with the council under pressure to cut a £2.4 billion borrowing bill, disposal of the UK’s biggest conference and exhibition centre outside of London has been talked about privately for months by Conservative backbench city councillors.
One person close to the negotiations, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Chamber might get the best of the deal in the short term.
Share
