Supplementary memorandum from the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
Global Asset Recycling Programme
1. As part of its asset recycling and estate
modernisation programmes, the FCO is selling properties in its
overseas estate, which are vacant, surplus, not operationally
effective, or not providing value for money. Under an agreement
with HM Treasury, proceeds of the sales are ploughed back into
modernisation of the FCO's estate.
Sales
2. The FCO sold property worth about £30
million in FY1999/2000 and about £18 million in FY2000/01.
The properties involved are listed at Annex A. In the period
FY2001/02 to FY2003/04, the FCO aims to sell property worth £100
million in over 60 posts. Properties currently proposed for sale
are listed at Annex B.
3. Posts in which recent sales which have
so far raised more than £1 million include:
— Bonn: Residence and senior staff
properties
— Cairo: senior staff housing
— Kuala Lumpur: staff housing
— Singapore: part of Residence grounds
and staff house
Estate Sales in the United States
4. The estate in the USA was reviewed in
2001. So far in the financial year 2001/02 we have sold property
in Washington and New York worth a total of £1.6 million.
More sales, possibly worth over £30 million, are planned
up to the end of FY 2003/04 in Chicago, New York, San Francisco
and Washington. Most of these properties will be replaced by rented
or purchased properties at a reduced annual cost to the FCO.
5. In New York, we have signed a contract
to purchase, on Manhattan, a new apartment, currently under construction,
which will be fitted out to our specification for the Consul-General.
This will replace his existing apartment, which will be marketed
for sale early in 2002.
6. In San Francisco, we are looking for
a replacement house for the Consul General which will not only
provide better value for money than his current house, but will
also better support the wider, particularly commercial, objectives
of the Consulate-General. We intend to sell the present house
when we have found a suitable replacement.
Acquisitions
7. Some examples of recent and proposed
estate investment projects are at Annex C.
Estate Strategy Unit
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
15 November 2001
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