THE UK hub responsible for shipping board game giant Monopoly has just been purchased by South Somerset District Council - for nearly £3million.

Hasbro’s British distribution hub, which also moves merchandise from Nerf, Play-Doh and My Little Pony, is the latest asset to be added to the council’s portfolio.

The sale has been completed for £2.78million as part of the Council’s commercial strategy, which has already seen them spend more than £45million of property.

SSDC hopes that by investing in a diverse range of assets, it will be able to generate income which will mitigate a reduction in central Government funding.

That would also ensure SSDC can protect the wide range of services our communities receive.

The building on Reevesland Industrial Estate in Newport was first identified by SSDC as part of a portfolio initially offered to the market in November 2018.

The particularly attractive feature of the property is that the remainder of the estate is owned by Hasbro, which SSDC considers makes the tenant far more secure and likely to remain in this location at the end of the lease.

Hasbro is the largest toy maker in the world for stock market and among its products are Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Furby, Transformers, Nerf, My Little Pony, Twister and the Power Rangers franchise.

The property is a 77,200 square foot industrial unit, used as a distribution centre by the tenant.

John Clark, SSDC portfolio holder, said: “Reevesland Industrial Estate is an excellent value property providing much needed inexpensive storage space in a market where precious little industrial stock is available.

“We’re also pleased that there is room for rental growth, which will increase the capital value of the property and the rental income to the council in future.

“This investment is the latest success in achieving the commercial strategy for generating income to continue the provision of public services.

“Our investments to date and projected gross and net returns are all on target.”