The former premises of Wantage Chippy has been listed for £175,000 by Central Business Agency.

This follows the takeaway restaurant, which was at 26 Wallingford Street, being dissolved in October last year after it opened with some excitement on Tuesday, March 4, 2023.

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Owner Ahmed Elaboussi said at its launch: “I saw the need for a fish and chip shop in what is a small old traditional English market town that is lacking a fish and chip shop.

“You can enjoy traditional fish and chips not mixed with pizza or international food or anything else.

The opening of the Wantage Chippy in 2023 (Image: Ed Nix)

“We have been bombarded by pizza shops in Wantage. I live here, and I have seen people say a lot of negative things about how many we are getting.”

He added that Wantage Chippy would also “stand apart from other businesses because of its fresh ingredients”.

Mr Elaboussi said: “The cod is crispy battered and not soggy, and all our chips are made from scratch. We peel our own potatoes, and we don’t buy them frozen.”

In its last submitted accounts for the period ended February 28, 2025, it said it made a profit of over £8,000 although had creditors falling due within a year amounting to £8,535.

The former premises of Wantage Chippy (Image: Central Business Agency)

The initial application to strike the company off the register was received on July 15, 2025, and was formalised on October 7, 2025.

The Grade II listed property has since been stripped and is being marketed as a ‘blank canvas’.

Its listing on Rightmove states: “Central Business Agency are pleased to offer an opportunity to acquire a recently refurbished Grade II listed mixed-use property in a central Wantage location, suitable for takeaway or retail use and offered with vacant possession.

“The ground floor provides a self-contained commercial unit, presented in excellent condition and ready for immediate occupation.

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“The property has previously been used as a takeaway and offers a strong opportunity for a new operator to establish a presence in the town (subject to any necessary consents).”

The listing adds that the first floor comprises two rooms together with shower and WC facilities and that the accommodation is best suited for use such as staff space, office or storage because access is via the commercial unit.

The listing added: “The property offers a straightforward “blank canvas” and is likely to appeal to owner-occupiers in the food sector, as well as investors.”

Granicus has named seven winners in its annual UK Digital Government Awards, which recognise public sector teams for measurable improvements in citizen engagement, service delivery and transparency.

The winners span local government and public bodies across the UK, with projects covering transport consultations, digital permits, case processing and internal communications.

Now in its sixteenth year, the programme highlights organisations using digital tools to reshape how residents interact with public services. This year’s winning entries delivered practical results, including shorter processing times, broader public participation and lower administrative workloads.

The awards were presented across six categories, with two winners in Operational Excellence.

Winners named

Enfield Council’s Transport, Climate and Place team won the Changemaker category for increasing inclusive participation in transport and placemaking projects. Its work generated more than 115,000 platform visits and higher engagement from young and disabled residents.

North Tyneside Council’s Engagement Team took the Community Engagement award after its consultation platform increased resident representation from 153 to 2,506 participants across all 20 wards.

In Operational Excellence, Cafcass was recognised for raising internal newsletter open rates from 15% to more than 60%, supporting recruitment visibility and wider organisational performance.

Wrexham County Borough Council’s Customer Services team shared the Operational Excellence honours after cutting Blue Badge application processing times from 18 working days to seven by automating workflows from start to finish.

The Service Delivery award went to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Digital Team. Digitising a paper-based parking permits service allowed it to process 9,200 applications, generate GBP £460,000 in online payments and save an estimated 110 staff weeks.

Wealden District Council’s Digital Services team won the Total Government Experience category for consolidating key services into a single self-service resident portal designed to meet WCAG accessibility standards, reducing demand on its contact centre.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration received the Trust and Transparency award for bringing residents into policy development and including them as voting members on recruitment panels.

Ian Roberts, UK managing director at Granicus, outlined the themes behind the awards.

“Faster services, with processing times cut from weeks to days; clearer communications, with engagement reaching thousands more residents; and stronger trust, built through more open and inclusive decision-making. Every year we see the ambition, creativity and commitment of public sector teams across the UK. This year’s winners show what is possible when digital is used with purpose. They are improving how citizens engage with services and building more transparent, responsive government. We are proud to recognise their achievements,” he said.

Measured results

Several winning projects focused on replacing manual processes with online systems. In Wrexham, shorter Blue Badge turnaround times had a direct effect on applicants waiting for a decision. In Tower Hamlets, moving parking permits online transformed a paper-led service into a digital process while delivering measurable administrative savings.

Other winners were recognised for expanding participation rather than reducing processing time. North Tyneside’s increase in consultation participants across every ward points to a broader base of input into council decisions, while Enfield focused on groups often underrepresented in planning and transport discussions.

The Trust and Transparency category reflected a different strand of digital public service work. Rhondda Cynon Taf’s award highlighted the use of resident input not only in consultation, but also in decision-making structures, including recruitment panels.

Cafcass was the only national public body among the listed winners. Its recognition for internal communications points to the role digital channels can play inside public organisations as well as in outward-facing services.

The winners were selected for demonstrable impact on citizen experience, organisational efficiency and public trust. Together, they reflect a mix of front-line service redesign, participation work and internal process change across councils and public agencies.

Granicus works with thousands of public sector organisations, and the awards draw from that customer base. This year’s winners included teams from London, Wales, north-east England and the south-east, underlining the spread of digital service projects across different parts of the public sector.

Among the clearest headline metrics were North Tyneside’s rise from 153 to 2,506 consultation participants, Wrexham’s reduction in Blue Badge processing times from 18 working days to seven, and Tower Hamlets’ handling of 9,200 permit applications alongside GBP £460,000 in online payments and an estimated saving of 110 staff weeks.

A new report filed by the administrators for Ahmeys has said only an exchanged contract with deposits held has been conducted with an agreed extension in place.

Contracts for the Oxford Road, Cowley-based company’s property sale were exchanged in July 2025, with a total deposit of £122,500 held by January 2026 against a £1.225m sale price.

A pharmacy sign on a shop. (Image: James Manning / PA)

Completion has been repeatedly delayed as the buyer, PharmaLearn, struggled to secure funding due to lower lender valuations and a weak property market, the report suggests.

Rather than terminate the deal which would risk higher costs, delays and a lower sale value (potentially around £900,000), administrators, in consultation with NatWest, agreed to a further six-month extension.

This was conditional on a £100,000 non-refundable deposit, which has since been received.

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Paul Appleton, joint administrator at Begbies Traynor, said: “A further extension to the date for completion was agreed, providing PharmaLearn with time to complete the transaction by June 2026 albeit we hope that the transaction will be completed well before then.

“Whilst this extension has required additional time and legal input, we remain of the view that, when compared with the available alternatives, continuing with the existing sale process is most likely to maximise the realisation for the benefit of the administration estate.

“Further work was undertaken to address the continued occupation of the property, including negotiations with Medlearn around an appropriate licence fee, as well as preparatory steps for issuing a potential notice to complete due to delays in progressing the execution process.

“Work will continue during the next reporting period to ensure all remaining matters are resolved and to bring the transaction to completion as promptly as possible.”

A pharmacist stocking shelves at a chemist (Image: PA)

Shortly after being taken over by the administrators, MedLearn Limited and Pharmalearn Limited vowed to buy the pharmacy.

Faiza Saleem is a director of both purchaser companies and is also connected to Nisar Ahmad, the sole director of Ahmeys, the administrators said.

Mrs Saleem is the wife of Faheem Ahmad, who resigned from Ahmeys in January 2025 as a director and from Medlearn in January 2024.

She is also the daughter in law of Nisar Ahmad, 69, the remaining director of Ahmeys.

The 22 staff who worked at Ahmeys were transferred to the new buyer via TUPE, transfer of undertakings (protection of employment), which eliminated the need for redundancies and wage arrears.

Ahmeys started to suffer financial difficulties due to working capital pressures and a slowdown in revenue, the administrators said in a previous report.