Mayfair land sale nets church £381m

The Church of England has made its largest single property sale, writes Ruth Gledhill.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) joined forces with the Crown Estate, the Queen’s property company, to buy the Church Commissioners’ 64.2 per cent holding in the Pollen Estate for £381 million. NBIM took 57.8 per cent and the Crown Estate 6.4 per cent in the Mayfair-based estate in central London.

Joseph Cannon, chief surveyor of the Church Commissioners for England, said: “The Church Commissioners are an endowment charity committed to supporting the ministry of the Church of England, particularly in areas of need and opportunity.

“The sale of our interest, which has been built up since we first invested in the estate more than 50 years ago, is part of that ­commitment.”

Meanwhile, the spending plans task group of the Church Commissioners and Archbishops’ Council has awarded £4.6m to projects from five dioceses.

Birmingham, Chelmsford, Leicester, Liverpool and Sheffield have all received grants for “growth and change” projects. The first applications for a pot of £7.5m were restricted to the poorest dioceses in the Church of England.