YORK council looks set to buy a thriving Clifton Moor business start-up centre outright for £3.9 million.

The Eco business centre off Amy Johnson Way, which is home to 63 small business units, is already managed by the council.

Now it wants to buy the 'head lease' - which would mean it would own the centre 'lock, stock and barrel'.

At the moment, 60 of the 63 units are in use. Most of the businesses based there are small, independent businesses - including architects, PR companies and health-related small businesses. There are also some light workshops.

In a report that will go the the council's Executive on November 26, the authority's 'director of place' Tracey Carter - whose remit includes planning, building control and council property holdings - says if it buys the centre outright the council will be able to take 'full control of the building and its future' and 'provide greater certainty of tenure and rent control to tenants'

It was the council that was the driving force behind the development of the centre more than a decade ago.

The authority advertised for a developer to build what it called an 'enterprise centre to provide start-up companies with space in an eco-friendly building' on the previously disused site in 2006.

The centre was intended as a new base for business start-ups after the Fishergate and Parkside small business centres closed.

The council already owns the freehold for the site. It manages all the tenants and is responsible for repair and upkeep of the building. The £3.9 million to buy the building would come from the council's capital budget.

Nick Collins, the council's head of asset management, said buying the building would enable the council to make good on its role as a 'mentor' for small businesses and business start-ups in York. But it would also make good financial sense, he stressed.

The council would be able to collect rents from all the tenants. And after deducting mortgage payments and other costs associated with buying the building, the authority would still be £60,000 a year better off if the purchase went ahead, he said.

Executive members who meet on November 26 are being asked to recommend to full council that the purchase should go ahead.

Ms Carter's report to the November 26 Executive meeting aims to summarise the council's entire property portfolio, and make recommendations on how it can be better managed.

The portfolio includes high street shops, offices, schools and other buildings, and land. In all the council owns about 1,300 ‘assets’ worth £346million. Between them they generate an annual income for the council of about £6million.

Ms Carter said that recommendations contained in her report should enable the council to increase income from its property holdings by about £490,000 a year.