BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council is set to pocket more than £400,000 after selling shares in a Basingstoke-based company.

The borough council has decided to sell shares in MWR Infosecurity Limited after they received an offer from the company in November 2013 to buy the shares back from the local authority.

The council invested £75,000 in the Basing View-based company, which is an IT installation tester of security systems, in April 2013, through the 3en partnership.

The partnership was set up by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in 2005 to help early stage high-tech businesses grow within the borough, and the borough council had 12 per cent of shares within the company.

The sale of the shares, which will see the borough council receive £405,000, will allow the company to move to the next stage of their development.

Councillor John Izett, cabinet member for property, finance and commissioning, said: “It is good news that the financial support we gave this local company back in 2005 has helped it develop into a successful and growing business that now employs over 60 people in Basingstoke.

“The company wants to make changes to its shareholding base to enable its next stage of growth, and it is therefore the right time for us as a ‘start-up’ investor to sell our shares.”

He added: “It is a double-win that not only have we helped a small, start-up local company to grow in the high-tech sector that we are keen to attract in the borough, but we have also made a profit from our investment for the borough’s residents.”