{"id":90388,"date":"2026-02-26T08:01:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=90388"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:01:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:01:48","slug":"why-sell-uk-assets-abroad-when-the-government-should-be-buying-them-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/02\/26\/why-sell-uk-assets-abroad-when-the-government-should-be-buying-them-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Why sell UK assets abroad when the government should be buying them instead?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I saw this headline in The Guardian<\/a> this morning:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I did, of course, have just one thought, which is why couldn't the UK state have bought that company?<\/p>\n

It could have done, of course.<\/p>\n

We learned today that the UK state will issue \u00a3247 billion of bonds in the next year, which is a fall from the current year. The figure does, of course, include rolled-over debt as earlier issues are redeemed and then replaced.<\/p>\n

So, the capacity to issue new bonds to buy assets exists. And the reality is that issuing such bonds is costless to the government. All they represent is a promise to pay in the future, which will, in practice, never be met because they will always be rolled over.<\/p>\n

The current interest rate on government bonds in issue is below 4%. This company could more than cover the resulting interest cost from its profits, better than any third party could cover the cost. There would, as a result, have been no net cost to the UK Exchequer.<\/p>\n

Buying this company would, therefore, have made economic sense. The government, the country, and its security would have improved; profits would not have been flowing abroad. Sterling would be protected as a result.<\/p>\n

But it did not happen. Why, oh why, oh why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I saw this headline in The Guardian this morning: I did, of course, have just one thought, which is why couldn’t the UK state have
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