RPS generates £11m profit from sale of Lambeth headquarters

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) generated nearly £11 million in profit from the sale of its Lambeth premises earlier this month, the society revealed this week, as it also announced it had bought a new site in East Smithfield, London, for £6m.

The RPS sold its headquarters for £15.3m, generating a net profit of approximately £10.9m, RPS director of finance Simon Redman told the society's annual general meeting on Wednesday (June 26). This was taking into account the sale value of £15.3m, less the costs of the sale and the original book value of the building.

The costs of buying and developing the new £6m headquarters in Smithfield, near Tower Hill underground station, would be placed on the balance sheet as a new fixed asset, he said.

The RPS sold its Lambeth headquarters for £15.3 million	More on the RPS RPS unveils Smithfield HQ to save £400,000 a year RPS membership sneaks up but full membership slips RPS elects four new pharmacy board members MORE NEWS
	Mr Redman considered the price the RPS received for the Lambeth building to be reflective of the high cost of buildings in central London.

He added that the price of the new building at 66-68 East Smithfield was excellent for an area of high investment and was very cost-effective compared to other benchmark properties in the city. The RPS would pay the £6m over a period of years.

"Purchasing freehold property in London is extremely difficult due to over-demand. It is only because the treasurer, president and rest of the assembly were able to react so quickly when the opportunity was presented to them that the RPS secured the purchase against considerable competitive interest," he told the meeting.

Work was continuing "at a pace" to refurbish the building, including improvements to its exterior, to make it ready for the move in either late 2014 or early 2015, he said. He predicted that annual overheads would be £400,000 lower than they are currently in Lambeth.

"This building has achieved all of the objectives laid down by the assembly: to reduce the overhead costs, to remove the distraction of being a landlord, to continue to have a base in central London to make it easy for staff members and stakeholders to use," Mr Redman said.

The RPS first announced its intention to sell its Lambeth headquarters last year, as part of its ongoing effort to "improve efficiency and cost effectiveness."