Cash-strapped Foreign Office puts Bangkok embassy up for sale

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Cash-strapped Foreign Office puts Bangkok embassy up for sale

 

Image: Holger Bauer via Google Maps

 

Foreign Office hopes to raise £420m from building’s sale to reinvest in other projects

 

The scale of financial pressure on the British diplomatic service was underlined today when the Foreign Office announced it was raising £420m by selling its embassy in Bangkok.

 

The sale is the largest land deal in Thai history and the FCO’s biggest ever sale. The Foreign Office said the proceeds would be reinvested elsewhere in the overseas estate and would fund 30-40 modernisation projects around the world, including in Washington DC.

 

The Foreign Office has long complained that its budget is being cut to the bone at a time when the parallel budget of the Department for International Development is booming.

 

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/31/cash-strapped-foreign-office-puts-bangkok-embassy-up-for-sale

 

-- The Guardian 2018-01-31

[darksidedog]

Given the quality of service offered, or should I say, not offered, by the Embassy, many wont miss it.

[plachon]

Queen Victoria will be turning on her plinth, as well as her grave, when she learns of this news. I guess the Embassy will be operating out of a 4 room condo unit in future, as everything is outsourced and austerity post-Brexit Little Britain bites to the bone of its past hope and glory mythology.  

[Chris Lawrence]

How about we all throw in a few bob and put an offer on the table?

 

I'll post the bank details latter. My suggesting of a investment vehicle, "Pretty Vacant Ltd", in recognition to the good work the Sex Pistols did in promoting the Queen.

[baboon]

15 minutes ago, plachon said:

Queen Victoria will be turning on her plinth, as well as her grave, when she learns of this news. I guess the Embassy will be operating out of a 4 room condo unit in future, as everything is outsourced and austerity post-Brexit Little Britain bites to the bone of its past hope and glory mythology.  

A kiosk would do the job just as well, let's be honest. They hardly need a whole 4 rooms...

[simoh1490]

I believe the land was a gift to the British government and it's frowned upon to sell such gifts.

[Chris Lawrence]

7 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I believe the land was a gift to the British government and it's frowned upon to sell such gifts.

It wasn't until 1922 that a new plot of land of about 12 acres (4.9 ha) in the Phloen Chit area was acquired from the Chinese businessman Nai Lert. The old compound was sold to the Siamese Government, which used it as the site of Bangkok's General Post Office, for about £110,000. This was enough to pay for both the land and the construction of new buildings (completed in 1926), as the new site was in a rural swampy area—a fact which made the move highly unpopular at the time. Queen Victoria's statue and the flagpole were relocated to the new site, and a war memorial was also erected in 1923. The minister's (now ambassador's) residence served as the compound's main building. Wikipedia.

 

But they do sound like cheap Charlies.

[nong38]

I think it has become a holiday home for career luvvies in the FCO, more interested in entertaining or being entertained than doing what the British people require them to do. 2 year stint and everyone moves to a new location at the tax payers expense.

Would not surprise me if the new Embassy is a shared one with Australia and New Zealand and how about locating it in Pattaya!

[evadgib]

40 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Given the quality of service offered, or should I say, not offered, by the Embassy, many wont miss it.

Just about everything is done online these days therefore what are you on about?

[Orton Rd]

I was a bit shocked going to the Italian Embassy, just an office in a tower block, UK will end up like that

[Stocky]

55 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Given the quality of service offered, or should I say, not offered, by the Embassy, many wont miss it.

Indeed, seeing as most of the embassy function has been outsourced it's hard to understand what on earth they do all day!

[shady86]

Effect of Brexit.

[brucec64]

Can't they just fund it from the 350 million a week being sent back to the NHS after Brexit?

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Stocky]

1 minute ago, shady86 said:

Effect of Brexit.

No, just the realities of a threadbare country living beyond its means.

[watcharacters]

 

 

 

Wireless is some top  shelf real estate!

 

I'm sorry to see this happen..

Edited January 31, 2018 by watcharacters

[ratcatcher]

[Crossy]

@ratcatcher you know what they say about "many a true word ...".

 

[phutoie2]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-embassy-bangkok-moves-to-a-new-home-for-the-21st-century

 

 

Looks like Sathorn then, could have been worse. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

40 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

I was a bit shocked going to the Italian Embassy, just an office in a tower block, UK will end up like that

In fact you are right.

The plan is to sell the blot of land at Chitlom/Ploenchit then lease it back for a few years, but eventually the British Embassy will relocate to the AIA building at Sathorn.

Edited January 31, 2018 by ExpatOilWorker

[salavan]

I did hear that the new embassy will be in a tin shed in Samat prakarn.

The visa application office is on the top floor of the trendy office building in soi 13 top floor behind the public toilet

[salavan]

Royal Britannia

[watcharacters]

25 minutes ago, Crossy said:

@ratcatcher you know what they say about "many a true word ...".

 

 

 

 

I think you and the Rat grossly underestimate the volume of business that would require on Wireless.    555

 

But I could have used one on my walk from Suk to the US Embassy.

[mick220675]

420,000,000 pounds/ 18,606,000,000 baht 

 

If it was my building I would sell it. Lets face it nothing that happens in that building benefits UK citizens living in Thailand. Maybe with that kind of money there staff might start to smile.

 

 

 

 

[webfact]

UK's Bangkok embassy sold by Foreign Office for £420m

 

The Foreign Office has sold its British embassy in Bangkok for £420m, the biggest property sale in its history.

 

Money raised will be used to renovate other embassies around the world.

 

British diplomats in Thailand's capital city will move to a modern tower block in 2019, that has been leased for the next 15 years.

 

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42886466

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2018-02-01

[bluesofa]

I read the FCO is going to use the money to re-invest in projects in other countries.

 

How are they going to get the money out of Thailand?

As it was a gift, the UK never brought the money into the country to buy it in the first place, so therefore cannot repatriate the cash, according to Bank Of Thailand regulations.

[alant]

Poor piss poor, no pride, the post war era leaders have thrown away the Great.

[richards]

14 hours ago, plachon said:

Queen Victoria will be turning on her plinth, as well as her grave, when she learns of this news. I guess the Embassy will be operating out of a 4 room condo unit in future, as everything is outsourced and austerity post-Brexit Little Britain bites to the bone of its past hope and glory mythology.  

Great Britain was the last empire and its glory was no myth. The British Empire was a formidable force forged on blood sweat and tears of the working man. But those days are long gone. We won the war but lost the fight then post war they gave it all away and destroyed it.  Bugger!

Edited February 1, 2018 by richards

[kingstonkid]

Most embassies are going to go the rent a floor route.  In the Kong run it is cheaper and easier to maintain.  

It will also mean less staff therefore not as many staff.

[Bundooman]

14 hours ago, shady86 said:

Effect of Brexit.

Wrong. Get your facts straight. The potential sale of the British Embassy was under discussion long before Brexit became a reality.

[petedk]

It says in the other paper that the embassy has been sold to the Central Group and they will develop a "mixed use project" linking to Central Embassy