THE trading arm of Lichfield District Council has paid a £100,000 dividend to the local authority, a report has revealed.
Lichfield West Midlands Traded Services (LWMTS) operates some functions such as leisure and property services for the council as well as offering services externally.
A report to a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee said the year to March 2026 saw a turnover of £7.87million and profit before tax of £131,700.
The report from Cllr Andrew Smith, deputy leader and cabinet member for leisure and major projects, said:
"The company also paid a £100,000 dividend to Lichfield District Council during the year, providing a direct financial return to its sole shareholder.
"The commercial growth strategy also continued to deliver results during the year, with traded income from planning consultancy, ecology brokerage and talent acquisition increasing significantly and strengthening the company's ability to diversify income and generate financial returns.
"During the year, the council introduced a cross-party Shareholder Advisory Group to strengthen governance, transparency and oversight of the council’s commercial interests and wholly owned companies."
The report said highlights for the year had included the delivery of £1.24million of Disabled Facilities Grants, membership growth at the new Lichfield Leisure Centre and support for more than 30 major developments via planning consultancy.
It added:
"Our property and projects service maintained and managed 34 commercial and 22 residential properties, supported safe and compliant operation of the council’s estate and delivered capital projects supporting regeneration, leisure and community infrastructure.
"The service also continued to support the council’s temporary accommodation programme.
"The talent acquisition service filled 21 roles across the council and partner organisations, reduced average recruitment times from eight weeks to four weeks and delivered savings of more than £200,000 by reducing reliance on agency staffing.
"New strategic accounts across the public and private sectors have also strengthened the service’s future growth potential."
The report will be discussed at a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee on 17th September.
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