Revealed: How much NHS trusts made from land sales

Six providers raised more than £10m each (see table).

Providers were encouraged to pursue or speed up property sales last year to support the financial position nationally.

Consolidated accounts data published by the Department of Health for previoius years showed that asset sales by trusts totalled £312m in 2015-16, £155m in 2014-15 and £191m in 2013-14.

A wide ranging review of NHS estates by Sir Robert Naylor estimated that the service could potentially generate £6bn by selling land that is surplus to requirements, most of which would be in London.

HSJ has collated data published in trusts’ annual accounts to show which organisations generated the largest capital receipts last year.

Around 90 trusts raised more than £100,000 with 35 raising more than £1m.

The 20 trusts that made the most from selling land or assets in 2016-17

_{Source: Trust annual accounts}

The disposals produce a cash benefit but can also benefit the trusts’ income and expenditure position if the asset is sold for a higher amount than it was valued at on the balance sheet.

The difference between the two amounts can count towards the trust sector’s financial performance, and in some cases the sales triggered additional incentive payments for the trusts via the sustainability and transformation fund.

For example, Royal Brompton and Harefield FT received an extra £11m of STF after it beat its financial target by £20m – thanks largely to the £13m profit made on the sale of an investment property.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust said its £14m capital receipt related to the disposal of land at its Sutton Hospital site, which contained three vacant and unused blocks of the old hospital. This resulted in net profit of £11m.

The £8.3m generated by North Bristol Trust related to the planned sale of the Frenchay Hospital site, which closed in 2014, to housing developers, as well as a three bedroom residential property and an offsite sterile services department. It said the sales were part of a 10 year programme. It booked a £3m profit on the disposals.

University Hospitals Birmingham FT received around £12m from a housing developer for surplus land in Selly Oak and booked a profit of £247,000.

The other trusts did not respond in time for our deadline.