CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s plans for a Great British sell-off of profitable public companies will cost taxpayers over £7 billion, experts warned today. 

The Land Registry, National Air Traffic Services, the Ordnance Survey and Channel 4 have all been earmarked for complete or part privatisation to score a quick fix of cash for the Treasury and shave the national debt.

But a study by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) warned for campaign group We Own It warns that the short-term gains will be eclipsed by huge losses in future profits.

Around £7.7bn would go into shareholders’ pockets instead of funding public services if the four companies are flogged based on their profits over the past 10 years, the report states.

NEF researcher Duncan McCann said: “Politicians often work on a short timeframe. This report shows just how short.

“These valuable assets can bring in long-term sustainable income. They are working well, have successfully modernised and our economy can benefit most from them staying in public hands.”

The government’s public consultation on the privatisation of the Land Registry is set to close on Thursday.

Its conclusions were pre-empted by the Prime Minister however, as he included measures to enable its sell-off through a new Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill in last week’s Queen’s Speech.

A sale would start to cost taxpayers money in missed profits within 25 years, according to the report.

Losses would be incurred far sooner — within just seven years — if the National Air Traffic Services is sold too.

The warnings come after the government controversially flogged off Royal Mail last year.

That raised £2bn from the sale, but the study has found that, based on annual profits of £373 million, the Treasury will be losing money by 2025.

We Own It director Cat Hobbs said: “George Osborne can’t have his cake and eat it. If he goes ahead with the Great British sell-off, we’ll have lost our public assets forever — and all the millions of profit they bring in every year.

“The Land Registry is a profitable, successful, innovative organisation doing a great job — why privatise it? We need to think about the wealth of the next generation.”