Brighton councillors back new i360 debt recovery plan

Councillors have backed a new plan to help Brighton's i360 tower repay its debts.

The seafront attraction in East Sussex missed numerous repayments of the £36m it borrowed from the government and now owes more than £47m.

Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) will now carry out a "cash sweep" every six months, taking all spare cash from the business.

A first sweep last month saw £700,000 repaid.

The new terms were agreed by a BHCC committee at a meeting on Thursday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Tom Druitt, who chairs BHCC's i360 working group, described loan talks as "challenging" but said: "This is all about giving the i360 the maximum chance of success and therefore giving the council the maximum chance of recouping its loan."

Director of the i360 Julia Barfield told the committee that the board took their responsibility to pay back the loan seriously.

Ms Barfield said: "That area of the seafront was derelict and has been transformed over those years. Our commitment is total - 100 per cent to Brighton - through the i360."

The attraction originally borrowed £36m from the government's Public Works Loan Board, through BHCC, but missed payments mean the loan amount is now £43m.

It must also repay a second loan of £4m.

The committee heard minimum payments had been reduced to reflect expected seasonal fluctuations and the pandemic.

The next amount due is £900,000 in December followed by £600,000 at the end of June 2023, the repayments are set to increase and continue until 2046.

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