Roger Bright speaks about Millbank Estate sell-off plans

The Crown Estate has launched an eight-week consultation period with residents over the proposal, insisting no decision had yet been made.

Along with Millbank, three other Crown Estate properties - Victoria Park, Lee Green and Cumberland Market Estates - are involved in the proposed sell-off.

The consultation ends on March 23.

The meeting, held on Wednesday (3), was chaired by Michael Fallon MP.

Q: Can you explain why you're selling off these properties?

Over a number of years we have bought and sold properties on this scale.

We've said that in our investment strategy we're aspiring to have a balanced portfolio that will produce sustainable returns in the medium to long term.

We have said we want to concentrate on core holdings which are around primarily Regent Street and Regent's Park and Kensington.

We have been pursuing a strategy of reducing our exposure to central London offices and seeking to reinvest into our core holdings and to diversify outside London.

It's all about getting the balance of the portfolio right to ensure a strong revenue performance.

Q: Do you accept that the residents are overwhelmingly opposed to this proposal?

Currently what we're hearing is that there's a good deal of concern amongst the residents.

It's necessary that we review all parts of the portfolio from time to time to see how they are performing and whether is makes sense to retain them in the long term.

At the same time, it's not one of our core assets and it's not a core area of expertise for us.

Therefore thought it right to explore the possibility of selling to a more focused housing provider with that expertise.

We would like to see ourselves as a responsible landlord and that's why we're conducting a consultation period and we're very anxious to hear what our tenants feel about this and to give the opportunity to explain the thinking behind this process.

I do stress we have not taken a decision.

Q: Would you hold a ballot of tenants and leaseholders?

We want to find out what the various tenants feel about these proposals, but we think a ballot won't give us that.

Our consultation involves surgeries, hotlines, engagement with the residents, which give us a better feel for what the tenants' concerns are.

My chairman and I have said we want to meet the chairs of the residents' associations before any decision is taken, and that's been arranged for early April.

Q: What reassurances can you give the residents about their rents and tenancies?

The rent regimes of the different types of tenancies are secure, when and if a new owner takes over.

We have a tenants' handbook which sets out the rental regimes for those types of tenancies and the tenants' handbook and the assurances it contains will have to move across to any would-be purchaser.

The bottom line is that for existing tenants, the security of tenure and the rent regime that they currently enjoy would transfer to any new purchaser.

Q: Certain names have been bandied about as commercial housing organisation that would be interested, some of whom would have a track record that would be of concern to residents on the estates.
Can we be reassured that some of these will not be actively considered?

I can give you an absolute assurance we will only contemplate a sale to a provider who we believe will manage the properties in a way that's sympathetic.

This is about finding a good home for these properties.

As regards our existing tenants, I can give a categoric assurance when it comes to deciding who might take over these properties we're going to be looking very closely at their management prospectus that they hold out to us and we're certainly going to take that very much into account before we make any decisions.