Cash-strapped Foreign Office puts Bangkok embassy up for sale

[SunsetT]

16 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Red Light district for 2 days? Any good?

....Not enough cash to find out............

[smotherb]

19 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.  

No, I believe the Brit Embassy is moving to the Thermae.

[maxcorrigan]

3 hours ago, overherebc said:

You could pin that label on many countries today.

True, But don't get the way of a good Brit basher though, this thread could reach 20 pages as they will all come flying out of the woodwork!

[Krataiboy]

Selling the family silver is the hallmark of a nation on the skids. Britain - another day older and deeper in debt. Be grateful you if you live in Thailand.

[Different]

"However, the sale of the Bangkok embassy has prompted fresh concern that the Foreign Office is struggling to find resources.

“It would be a great mistake to scale back our presence when our message is ‘global Britain’,” the former foreign secretary William Hague told a Lords select committee on Wednesday."

 

I wonder why on earth English people still think arrogantly as a super power while they ignore the clear facts their country is melting down geographically and economically.

[sungod]

3 hours ago, MorristheRunt said:

Say's everything about the present state of the UK, a once mighty nation, now a weak, insignificant island.

Insignificant in that its one of the worlds top 10 economies, permanent seat on the security council, World banking centre etc etc etc

[Bundooman]

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Are YOU British. If so learn to type and put proper sentences together, please.

Whatever "YOU" are, you also need to learn the importance of a question mark after a quwstion and a comma after 'If so'. Two can play "Grammar police"............

[dbrenn]

While symbols of national pride are demolished, the UK dishes out a staggering 12 billion pounds a year in foreign aid vanity projects, so as to make our virtue signalling politicians feel good about themselves.

[bluesofa]

38 minutes ago, smotherb said:

No, I believe the Brit Embassy is moving to the Thermae.

 If you're in the queue there you'll only have to wait for a short-time.

[thedivezone]

3 hours ago, adammike said:

Won the war but lost the peace.maybe because you never stopped fighting the war, in your heads at least.

Harsh, but quite apt .

[maxcorrigan]

13 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

While symbols of national pride are demolished, the UK dishes out a staggering 12 billion pounds a year in foreign aid vanity projects, so as to make our virtue signalling politicians feel good about themselves.

Yes very true, but remember the foreign bill is all part of the gravy train, don't you remember one of the milligram brothers crowing about one of the charities he is involved with making money and financed by foreign aid, we now pay more per head than any other nation, and rising annually thanks to Camerons inbuilt yearly interest, which he pleaded with TMay when she took over to keep intact, which of course she did! 

[Camelot]

The architectural style of the original British Embassy and grounds on Ploenchit Road looked more like a colonial Government House than a foreign mission.

 

Was that accidental?

[lumply]

As a regular business visitor to Bangkok spanning 20 odd years I took advantage of the excellent services the various Commercial Secretaries provided. That also applied to British Embassies in many other countries. However my experiences of going running to them with personnel issues was 'never' over a lot longer although I do understand that most negative comments about the services fall into this category. One might conclude that their primary function is to assist in the promotion of trade with the UK and this they manage to achieve very well. 

[evadgib]

HMG once again did themselves no favours by releasing the below details to the general public a full 24hrs after the Guardian etc had seen it and had time to put a negative slant on it. If Joe Public had seen this link without this unnecessary delay they might be a little warmer towards HMG's ultimate objective instead of banging the old "Embassy ain't doin' nuffink" drum that prevails on this website whenever they're mentioned...

 

Here is the full release & link:

 

Quote

Press release

British Embassy Bangkok moves to a new home for the 21st century

Diplomats and consular staff at the UK Embassy in Bangkok will move to new premises by 2019, following the sale of the existing site for over £420 million.

Published 31 January 2018

From:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

 

Diplomats and consular staff at the UK Embassy in Bangkok will move to new premises by 2019, following the sale of the existing site to a joint-venture consortium of Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, and Central Group for over £420 million.

This is the biggest land deal in Thai history and the FCO’s biggest ever sale. The proceeds will be reinvested in the FCO’s overseas estate and will fund 30-40 modernisation projects around the world that are necessary for security or health and safety reasons.

The new embassy building will be based in the AIA Sathorn Tower in the central business district from where diplomats will continue to promote UK interests in Thailand, a key partner on security and prosperity, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and wider region.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Britain is a leading player on the global stage and I’m determined to ensure that our diplomats have all the necessary tools to do their job effectively. This includes working in modern, safe, fit for purpose premises not just in Bangkok but around the world.

Our workforce in Bangkok will be moving into a state-of-the-art premises by 2019 and this can only enhance our trade links and bilateral relations in Thailand and throughout the region.

Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office said:

In a tight fiscal environment, it is right that we take tough decisions to ensure that the UK can maintain a global presence while getting the best value for taxpayers.

This deal will ensure that we have a modern, state of the art premises in Bangkok, confirming our long-term commitment to our relationship with Thailand, while releasing much-needed funds to modernise other embassies around the world, including in Cairo, New Delhi and Washington.

The sale is part of the FCO’s continual review of its global estate, which is designed to ensure the maintenance of a world-class platform from which to promote UK interests, and also deliver value to the British taxpayer.

The existing embassy building, which dated from the 1920s, required a significant upgrade and refurbishment to make it fit-for-purpose for a modern working environment, with large parts of the embassy building no longer usable.

After exploring all the options for the Bangkok estate, and conducting an independent valuation of the site, the decision was taken to sell the compound to the joint-venture consortium of Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, and Central Group following an open competition.

The new embassy will reaffirm our long-term commitment to our relationship with Thailand – a key partner for the UK’s security and prosperity interests and a leading ASEAN nation.

We are also strengthening our trade links through the new the Thai-UK Business Leadership Council, and this is complemented by the strong collaboration on science and innovation through our £3 million Newton Fund for Thailand.

Our diplomatic staff are also working with the Thai authorities on preventing child exploitation, organised crime, money laundering and human trafficking. And we will continue to maintain our focus on supporting human rights defenders, promoting freedom of expression and encouraging full Thai cooperation with the Universal Periodic Review process.

Notes for editors

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the FCO on twitter for the travel advice @fcotravel
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Media enquiries

For journalists

Email[email protected]

Newsdesk020 7008 3100

 

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

[jhonnie]

19 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

 

Wireless is some top  shelf real estate!

 

I'm sorry to see this happen..

Selling the farm . Just like its colonial cousin Australia/China

[dlodratsab]

2 hours ago, hottrader77 said:

Yes true but thats why i am leaving britain because the put others before their own people, ,pratts they are 

 

 

My sentiments to a T.....Well said

[bristolgeoff]

what a location in bkk,,what will they replace it with.somebody will build a new mall or apartments there.love to be a fly on the wall when they decided to do it

[Baerboxer]

20 hours ago, Stocky said:

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

 

Is that so? Has the Embassy, i.e. Foreign Office responsibilities been outsourced? If so which?

 

Not to be confused with the visas, passport renewals responsibilities of the Home Office's consular services, which have been outsourced.

[mikecha]

21 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

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

correct

[simoh1490]

5 minutes ago, mikecha said:

correct

Well I know the second part of what I wrote is true and I'm certain I read last week that the land was gifted. But another poster linked earlier to a Wiki extract claiming that the land was in fact purchased so honestly, I really don't know for sure.

[Thingamabob]

Great location but totally undermined by the miserably awful, waste of space,  service it has provided over many years. 

[Sir Dude]

Considering that the UK foreign aid program is 13 billion pounds a year spent on ludicrous rubbish around the world, all they need to do is slash that in half or get rid of it entirely (my first choice) and fix the NHS, raise the state pension plus plug budget holes in the military/police and foreign office amongst others. Would just have to contain the inevitable outpouring of the sneering La La Land PC liberal bleating thought police of course.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Sir Dude

[lvr181]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Not really any different to religions, is it 

Just not as bad.

[ballpoint]

26 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

You haven't understood the subject, we can tell!

 

The UK is SELLING the land, the land will, therefore, be owned by the buyer, whoever that might be and whichever country they may come from!

From the Foreign Office press release:

 

"Diplomats and consular staff at the UK Embassy in Bangkok will move to new premises by 2019, following the sale of the existing site to a joint-venture consortium of Hongkong Land, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, and Central Group for over £420 million".

 

It's no secret that Central have been after it for some time now.

[nontabury]

2 hours ago, lumply said:

As a regular business visitor to Bangkok spanning 20 odd years I took advantage of the excellent services the various Commercial Secretaries provided. That also applied to British Embassies in many other countries. However my experiences of going running to them with personnel issues was 'never' over a lot longer although I do understand that most negative comments about the services fall into this category. One might conclude that their primary function is to assist in the promotion of trade with the UK and this they manage to achieve very well. 

What presence do British business have in Thailand. From what I can see, very insignificanct  compared with other Europeans countries. The only ones that immediately comes to mind are Tesco and possible UK educational establishments.

[arithai12]

23 hours 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

It's more than one office, maybe you didn't see all of it. btw also UAE and a few others are in that tower. But what exactly do you need from an Embassy, and mostly from its consular office? Personally I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible, don't really care if they have a nice garden. The fact that the tower block has shops where to kill time if you need to is actually a plus to me.

 

btw, the main reason why a few embassies have large compounds is to host a number of  "services" not exactly meant for the general public.

[metisdead]

Some nonsense posts and replies have been removed. 

[CGW]

It is sad to be outclassed by a 'developing country'? perhaps when Thailand reaches developed nation status it will sell off the piece of land it owns in Singapore where its embassy is, possibly the most valuable undeveloped piece of real estate in the world? or will they have more class?

[JAG]

23 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Blimey - does that mean that there is going to be a British Embassy every 300 yards, on both sides of the road?

[JAG]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

It is sad to be outclassed by a 'developing country'? perhaps when Thailand reaches developed nation status it will sell off the piece of land it owns in Singapore where its embassy is, possibly the most valuable undeveloped piece of real estate in the world? or will they have more class?

Well, you can bet your bottom dollar that if they do the proceeds won't be used to rewire their Paris Embassy, or tart up their Washington mission!

 

Watches and Beemers galore...