Queen’s income from Duchy of Lancaster estate climbs to £20m
THE Queen’s income from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate jumped £1m last year to around £20m, according to accounts.
The collection of property, land and foreshore has been the personal estate of the monarch since 1399 and generates income on an annual basis.
The 2017 accounts for the estate showed that its net asset value, or how much the estate was worth, jumped 2.9pc to £533.8m on the back of fewer days where properties were not rented and lower costs.
As a result, the Queen received a payment of £20.2m, a 4.9pc increase on the previous year.
The money is used to fund her public and private activities, and while the estate is not subject to corporation tax as it is not a separate legal entity for tax purposes, the Queen voluntarily pays income tax on revenue she receives from the Duchy.
Nathan Thompson, chief executive officer and clerk of the Duchy Council, said: “This has been another positive year for the Duchy, with strong growth in almost all of our business sectors.”
He said that the estate’s performance had been boosted by “improving tenant relations, reducing voids and increasing efficiency”.
However, the report identified “outcomes from Brexit negotiations” as a potential strategic risk to the business in the future.
Spanning thousands of hectares, the portfolio includes rural land across eight English counties and in South Wales, 10 castles, and a number of historic buildings including on the Savoy Estate in central London and in Harrogate. There are also limestone and sandstone quarries, which supply material to the UK construction sector, and a mine supplying gypsum to the cement industry.
The Queen also owns a number of industrial and warehouse properties, and the report said that the Duchy had identified a range of sites where homes
£200,000 The value of the land and property purchased by the Duchy in 2017, with disposals coming to £600,000
could be built in the year ahead. “The review of strategic land is a growing area of focus in response to housing needs across the country,” Mr Thompson said.
In January, the Duchy secured planning permission from Westminster City Council for the refurbishment of a Twenties building called Norman House on the Strand, the largest single refurbishment project ever undertaken by the estate. The estate is also carrying out a programme of works to improve the quality of more than 500 hectares of existing woodland.
Overall in 2017, the Duchy purchased £200,000 of land and property, sold £600,000, and invested £5m in repairs and improvements. Royal accounts last month showed the Queen’s annual expenditure increased by around 13pc as a major programme of renovations, which are expected to last 10 years, began at Buckingham Palace.