Sutton's H&M and WH Smith are now owned by the council...or at least the buildings they operate out of are.

As part of its town centre regeneration plans, Sutton Council purchased 118 High Street (occupied by WH Smith) and 140 High Street (occupied by H&M).

Councillor Sunita Gordon, Sutton’s lead member for resources, said: “Our latest purchase of 118 and 140 High Street is central to our investment strategy and our ambition to make Sutton an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

“We will be able to use these prime locations on Sutton’s high street to provide local small businesses with opportunities to access the flexible working space they need in order to thrive.

“Since we made it our policy to increase property investments in the borough four years ago, we have put more than £53m into property, giving us an annual income of more than £2.5m to support council services.”