Westcott · Surrey · RH4 3PA
A village-centre freehold of established premises use, offered by sealed-bid informal tender in summer 2026.
Guide
£700,000Freehold
Format
Sealed bidInformal tender
Title
SY607273Freehold absolute
Launch
Summer 2026TBC
Bid deadline
Launch + 28dTBC
2 Riverbank occupies a prominent site on the south side of Westcott Street in the centre of Westcott — a sought-after Surrey village in the Vale of Holmesdale, set between the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge, approximately one and a half miles west of Dorking on the A25.
The building is a two-storey detached former residential dwelling, originally known as Peacehaven, converted to medical use in 1989 under planning permission MO/89/1022 and subsequently extended. The accommodation is arranged over ground and first floors with an approximate net internal area of 134.39 sq m (1,446 sq ft).
The plot is generously sized and irregular in shape, with expansive grassed gardens to the rear and side falling gently toward the Pippbrook — a tributary of the River Mole that bounds the southern curtilage. Mature trees mark the rear and eastern boundaries, and the position offers scope for lateral extension or reconfiguration subject to planning.
The freehold is held under Title Absolute SY607273, registered to St. Lawrence Trustees Limited as trustee. Dorking — with mainline stations at Dorking, Dorking Deepdene and Dorking West — lies approximately three miles away. Both Heathrow and Gatwick are within forty minutes by road.
2 Riverbank can be priced on any of three bases. The structured sealed-bid process is designed to surface the bidder who values the asset most highly on the basis that best fits their strategy.
01
With occupation regularised by a contracted-out lease at current market rent (in the order of £30,000 per annum), the asset converts into a primary-care investment with NHS-backed reimbursement under the General Medical Services premises-cost regime. Primary-care surgeries have transacted nationally at yields in the mid single digits in recent cycles.
02
Occupation is currently on a tenancy-at-will basis following expiry of the 2011 headlease in February 2021; formal notice was served by the vendor's solicitor in August 2024. The vendor's position is supported by Valley View Health Centre v NHS Property Services [2022] EWHC 1393 (Ch). Vacant possession opens alternative-use options not available to most healthcare investment stock.
03
The building was originally a residential dwelling and its footprint, plot size and irregular shape lend themselves to reconversion. An independent residential agent (Chantries & Pewleys, 1 March 2022) has placed the residential-conversion market value at £800,000, on the basis of straightforward conversion to a four-bedroom dwelling without further extension. Route to value runs through vacant possession, full planning, and conversion works.
The vendor is not bound to accept the highest or any bid and reserves the right to refuse any bid for any reason, including in relation to a bidder's identity, source of funds, intended use or connection to the existing occupier.
The freehold has been independently valued on two distinct bases. Both reports are made available to qualified bidders in the data room.
£800,000
Independent residential agent's opinion of market value, prepared on the assumption of change of use back to residential. The opinion describes the current layout as supporting a straightforward conversion to a four-bedroom family dwelling without the need to further extend the property.
Full letter, with supporting comparable evidence, available in the data room.
In data room
A full RICS Red Book Global Standards valuation prepared by an MRICS valuer on a commercial / vacant-possession basis. The report's headline figure was prepared on special assumptions in a connected-party context and the vendor's marketing strategy does not rely on it; the full report is nonetheless disclosed to qualified bidders for completeness.
Issued on the standard RICS Red Book confidentiality and reliance terms.
Both valuations pre-date the current marketing campaign and reflect market conditions at the time of preparation. The £700,000 guide price reflects the current market context and the disclosed status of the matters set out under Disclosures below. Bidders should form their own view in the light of all the evidence in the data room.
Sale is by informal tender — a competitive, sealed-bid process administered by the instructed commercial agent, not a public-room auction.
Each interested party submits a single written bid against the published guide, accompanied by proof of identity, proof of funds, the bidder's intended buying entity and ultimate beneficial owner, and confirmation of intended use. Bids without complete pre-qualification material are not opened. If the two highest qualifying bids fall within 5% of each other, a best-and-final round may be called.
01
Sealed bid in writing by the published deadline, with proof of funds, UBO declaration and intended use.
No fee payable02
On written acceptance, 5% of the accepted bid is paid into solicitor escrow within 5 working days. Standalone lock-out agreement; non-refundable except on vendor default.
5% — non-refundable03
Contracts exchanged within 28 days. 10% deposit on exchange; reservation fee credited. SCS 5th edition with time-of-the-essence amendments.
10% deposit · 28 days04
Completion within 28 days of exchange (extendable once by mutual agreement to 56 days). Balance of purchase price payable; SDLT for buyer.
Balance · 28 daysOn bidder default after acceptance, the reservation fee is forfeit and the vendor may relaunch the sale immediately. After exchange, the standard contractual remedies apply, including forfeit of the 10% deposit and the vendor's right to claim any shortfall on resale plus interest at 4% over Bank of England base rate.
The tender is open to UK and international principals, corporate bidders and SPVs, subject to the pre-qualification gate set out below. Pre-qualification packs are issued by the agent on registration of interest.
The tender pack expressly excludes bids from the existing occupier and from any party connected with the existing occupier, including any company in which any party connected with the existing occupier holds office of director, shareholding, beneficial interest or controlling influence; any person acting as agent, nominee or trustee for any of the foregoing; and any special-purpose vehicle incorporated within the preceding 24 months whose directors or ultimate beneficial owners cannot evidence an unrelated business purpose.
This restriction is a vendor pre-condition of the sale and is reflected in a statutory declaration on the bid form. A false or misleading declaration may give rise to civil and criminal liability for misrepresentation and is a ground for the vendor's immediate forfeiture of all sums paid.
Bidders should price the property on the basis of the material set out here and in the data room. The vendor has chosen to publish the full evidential record in advance so that diligence is short and the sale settles on facts.
01 — Planning history & context
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| MO/89/1022 | Change of use from residential ("Peacehaven") to doctor's surgery with single-storey extensions (approx. 57 sq m). | Approved |
| MO/91/0243 | Extension to car park — up to fifteen additional spaces. | Approved |
| MO/2021/2158 | Change of use from doctor's surgery (Class E) to single residential dwelling (Class C3). | Withdrawn · 19 November 2021 |
Reference MO/2021/2158 was withdrawn before determination. It does not constitute a refusal and should not be read as such.
The property sits within the Surrey Hills National Landscape, so the Class MA permitted-development route (commercial Class E to residential C3) is disapplied under Article 2(3) of the GPDO 2015. Any change of use or redevelopment requires a full planning application on its merits.
The emerging Westcott Neighbourhood Plan — currently at examination — includes a draft policy (WNDP7) safeguarding certain village healthcare premises. Three independent representations have been lodged seeking deletion or substantial modification of the policy, including a freeholder representation on Trustee letterhead. The Examiner's report is anticipated in mid-2026 with the referendum to follow. Statutory challenge under s.61N of the TCPA 1990 is reserved within the six-week post-referendum window. The full evidence pack is available in the data room.
02 — Occupation
The premises are currently in occupation by the existing GP-practice tenant. The vendor's primary case is that the original headlease expired in February 2021 and a licence to underlet was never completed, so the occupier holds over as a tenant at will rather than a periodic tenant with statutory protection. Formal notice was served by the vendor's solicitor in August 2024.
The vendor's position is supported by Valley View Health Centre v NHS Property Services [2022] EWHC 1393 (Ch) and by the contractual machinery in the 2018 Business Transfer Agreement and the freeholder's licence to underlet. CPR 31.16 pre-action disclosure is in motion. The marketing pack states a vacant-possession target window of Q1 2027, contingent on negotiated exit or court order.
03 — NHS premises-cost
The vendor is in active engagement with Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board and the District Valuer on regularisation of NHS premises-cost reimbursement under the NHS (General Medical Services — Premises Costs) Directions 2024. Three Freedom-of-Information requests are live and an Internal Review is in progress.
The vendor's view is that this is a process matter rather than a value risk: regularisation produces a settled occupation rent on a District-Valuer basis, which supports rather than undermines a market sale of the freehold. Correspondence is published in the data room.
04 — Vendor structure
The freehold is held by St. Lawrence Trustees Limited as bare trustee of a Self-Invested Personal Pension. The sale is supported by an independent RICS Red Book valuation commissioned from a specialist primary-care surveyor, and the Trustee's approval is the subject of a side-letter committing to a 21-day approval window from receipt of the complete tender pack.
Trustee approval is a process condition of the sale, not a buyer-satisfaction condition. Bidders accordingly have no contractual route to withdraw on the basis of trustee timing. The instructed solicitor is Downs Law (Dorking).
The campaign is backward-chained from a target completion at the end of Q3 2026. Earliest realistic marketing launch is 1 July 2026, after the Neighbourhood-Plan Examiner has reported. Dates will be confirmed once the agent is formally instructed.
Commercial agent appointed; RICS Red Book valuation completed; tender pack issued; trustee approval-in-principle confirmed.
Property formally listed; data room opens to qualified parties; direct approaches to identified prospective bidders.
Site viewings by appointment with ID requirement; bidder pre-qualification packs issued; Q&A through the agent only.
Sealed bids submitted with proof of funds, UBO declaration and intended use. Bids without complete pre-qualification material are not opened.
If the top two bids are within 5%, a best-and-final round is called. Vendor selects preferred bidder; 5% reservation fee paid within 5 working days.
Trustee approval pack submitted; buyer conveyancing on the pre-published data room; draft contract and replies to enquiries.
10% deposit on exchange; reservation fee credited; SCS 5th edition with time-of-the-essence amendments.
Completion within 28 days of exchange, extendable once by mutual agreement to 56 days.
Pre-qualification packs and a data-room invitation are issued by the instructed agent on completion of the short register-interest form. There is no fee at this stage and the form is not a bid.