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Croydon council debt
London borough, England. Latest figures: Jun 2026.
Total debt
£1.64bn
£1,635,926,000
Debt per person
£3,989
410,085 residents
Net debt
£1.53bn
after £105m of investments
Change in a year
+9.3%
+£136m since Mar 2025
Debt to budget
1.6×
times net current spending, 2025-26
Local economy
£35,078
GDP per person; debt is 11.4% of the area's £14.4bn GDP
Debt cost
£223
per person: £91.3m of interest and repayment in 2025-26 (£63.1m interest)
Financial distress
- Section 114 notice issued on 11 November 2020: the council's finance officer stopped all new spending except on legal duties.
- Section 114 notice issued on 2 December 2020: the council's finance officer stopped all new spending except on legal duties.
- Section 114 notice issued on 22 November 2022: the council's finance officer stopped all new spending except on legal duties.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2020-21: £70.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2021-22: £50.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2022-23: £25.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2023-24: £63.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2024-25: £38.0m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2025-26: £136m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
- Exceptional Financial Support for 2026-27: £119m agreed by the government, allowing the council to borrow or sell assets to balance its budget.
Sources: GOV.UK Exceptional Financial Support; section 114 notices as listed in Section 114 notice (Wikipedia).
Croydon has the 20th highest debt per person of 197 single-tier councils in the UK (Jun 2026).
Croydon debt over time
Outstanding borrowing at each date, Mar 2010 to Jun 2026.
What Croydon spent capital money on
Councils borrow to pay for capital spending: buildings, roads, housing, loans to their own companies, commercial property. Capital spending by service in each financial year, and how much of it was paid for by new borrowing, 2018-19 to 2024-25.
Commercial property and companiesHousingSchools and educationRoads and transportCulture, leisure and sportCentral services and corporate propertyEnvironment and wastePlanning and regenerationSocial carePublic health
| Year | Capital spending | Borrowed | Biggest items |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | £119m | £41.7m | Housing £73.0m, Roads and transport £14.4m, Central services and corporate property £11.1m |
| 2023-24 | £66.1m | £11.7m | Housing £39.2m, Roads and transport £11.6m, Schools and education £6.5m |
| 2022-23 | £80.0m | £158m | Housing £42.7m, Roads and transport £16.7m, Central services and corporate property £6.7m |
| 2021-22 | £93.6m | £30.1m | Housing £58.9m, Roads and transport £11.0m, Schools and education £10.6m |
| 2020-21 | £85.0m | £101m | Housing £29.6m, Schools and education £24.6m, Commercial property and companies £9.8m |
| 2019-20 | £247m | £173m | Commercial property and companies £106m, Housing £57.3m, Culture, leisure and sport £27.6m |
| 2018-19 | £411m | £303m | Commercial property and companies £294m, Housing £31.7m, Schools and education £21.4m |
"Borrowed" is new borrowing and credit used to finance that year's spending; it can exceed the spending when a council borrows to cover earlier costs or, with government permission, day-to-day losses. Source: MHCLG capital outturn (England, from 2018-19); StatsWales capital outturn (Wales). Not yet available for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Who Croydon borrows from
| Lender | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works Loan Board (PWLB)the government's lending facility for councils, run by the UK Debt Management Office; most council borrowing comes from it | £1.47bn | 90% |
| Other sourcesborrowing the council did not assign to any of the groups above | £102m | 6% |
| Other councilsloans from other local authorities, usually short term | £40.0m | 2% |
| Banksloans from UK banks, including LOBO loans (lender option, borrower option) | £20.0m | 1% |
| Pension funds, insurers and other financial institutionslenders that are financial institutions but not banks: pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds, the Municipal Bonds Agency | £5.0m | 0% |
Outstanding loans by type of lender as reported by the council to MHCLG, short and long term together, as at Jun 2026. The return groups lenders by sector, not by name.
Croydon debt by year
| Date | Debt | Investments | Net debt | Per person | Population | Debt cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | £1.64bn | £105m | £1.53bn | £3,989 | 410,085 | £91.3m |
| Mar 2026 | £1.60bn | £65.9m | £1.53bn | £3,892 | 410,085 | £91.3m |
| Dec 2025 | £1.51bn | £90.6m | £1.42bn | £3,684 | 410,085 | £87.3m |
| Sep 2025 | £1.47bn | £108m | £1.36bn | £3,587 | 410,085 | £87.3m |
| Jun 2025 | £1.45bn | £115m | £1.34bn | £3,560 | 408,636 | £87.3m |
| Mar 2025 | £1.46bn | £137m | £1.32bn | £3,572 | 408,636 | £87.3m |
| Dec 2024 | £1.33bn | £81.0m | £1.25bn | £3,266 | 408,636 | £74.0m |
| Sep 2024 | £1.31bn | £78.3m | £1.23bn | £3,205 | 408,636 | £74.0m |
| Jun 2024 | £1.28bn | £93.8m | £1.19bn | £3,183 | 402,011 | £74.0m |
| Mar 2024 | £1.28bn | £55.2m | £1.22bn | £3,183 | 402,011 | £74.0m |
| Dec 2023 | £1.24bn | £61.7m | £1.18bn | £3,084 | 402,011 | £66.4m |
| Sep 2023 | £1.24bn | £58.2m | £1.18bn | £3,084 | 402,011 | £66.4m |
| Jun 2023 | £1.21bn | £31.9m | £1.18bn | £3,071 | 393,903 | £66.4m |
| Mar 2023 | £1.28bn | £102m | £1.18bn | £3,243 | 393,903 | £66.4m |
| Dec 2022 | £1.30bn | £100m | £1.20bn | £3,289 | 393,903 | £50.3m |
| Sep 2022 | £1.33bn | £83.9m | £1.24bn | £3,365 | 393,903 | £50.3m |
| Jun 2022 | £1.33bn | £83.2m | £1.25bn | £3,409 | 390,691 | £50.3m |
| Mar 2022 | £1.36bn | £97.0m | £1.27bn | £3,493 | 390,691 | £50.3m |
| Dec 2021 | £1.42bn | £141m | £1.28bn | £3,633 | 390,691 | £39.0m |
| Sep 2021 | £1.42bn | £60.0m | £1.36bn | £3,646 | 390,691 | £39.0m |
| Jun 2021 | £1.43bn | £79.8m | £1.35bn | £3,643 | 392,101 | £39.0m |
| Mar 2021 | £1.45bn | £75.8m | £1.37bn | £3,689 | 392,101 | £39.0m |
| Dec 2020 | £1.47bn | £80.0m | £1.39bn | £3,740 | 392,101 | £31.8m |
| Sep 2020 | £1.52bn | £90.0m | £1.43bn | £3,880 | 392,101 | £31.8m |
| Jun 2020 | £1.49bn | £90.0m | £1.40bn | £3,809 | 390,643 | £31.8m |
| Mar 2020 | £1.45bn | £27.7m | £1.42bn | £3,699 | 390,643 | £31.8m |
| Mar 2019 | £1.27bn | £69.8m | £1.20bn | £3,293 | 386,999 | £31.6m |
| Mar 2018 | £908m | £34.0m | £874m | £2,355 | 385,567 | £39.4m |
| Mar 2017 | £848m | £105m | £743m | £2,206 | 384,382 | – |
| Mar 2016 | £802m | £121m | £680m | £2,102 | 381,277 | – |
| Mar 2015 | £761m | £101m | £660m | £2,012 | 378,244 | – |
| Mar 2014 | £720m | £115m | £605m | £1,924 | 374,270 | – |
| Mar 2013 | £690m | £161m | £530m | £1,868 | 369,617 | – |
| Mar 2012 | £619m | £143m | £477m | £1,697 | 364,815 | – |
| Mar 2011 | £326m | £131m | £195m | £911 | 357,951 | – |
| Mar 2010 | £279m | £117m | £162m | £790 | 352,763 | – |
Similar councils
| Council | Debt | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Newham | £1.56bn | £4,143 |
| Edinburgh | £2.18bn | £4,099 |
| East Ayrshire | £496m | £4,091 |
| Croydon | £1.64bn | £3,989 |
| East Dunbartonshire | £435m | £3,975 |
| Enfield | £1.28bn | £3,878 |
| Aberdeenshire | £1.02bn | £3,841 |
Single-tier councils closest in debt per person, Jun 2026.