SoA puts £8.5m offices on the market

The Society of Authors is selling its offices in London with a price tag of £8.5m, saying the buildings are no longer “fit for purpose” because the organisation has grown.

The properties, 82 and 84 Drayton Gardens in South Kensington (pictured below), are available as a single lot or separately and currently include the society’s offices alongside three residential apartments. The buildings, which span more than 8,000 sq ft altogether, have been taken on by real estate company Knight Frank.

The society told The Bookseller that it cannot yet disclose where it will move to but that the new offices will need to be "fully accessible" to all its 10,000 members.

A spokesperson said: “We’ll announce details of our new premises once all the details have been finalised but we’re moving because our current offices are very old and not fit for purpose in many ways, and as we’ve grown larger our administrative and support requirements have grown as well.

“The SoA needs a home that is fully accessible, as we run a lot of events here and want to make sure all our members can attend. We also want to continue to provide a fast, efficient and reliable service as our membership grows larger (over 10,000 members now and counting) and a fully-kitted-out modern office will help us do that.”

In its marketing material, Knight Frank said: “While the Society of Authors has always been located in South Kensington (historically the literary heart of London), it acquired 84 Drayton Gardens in 1939. It was not until 1967 that no.82 was acquired with the proceeds of “My Fair Lady”, the much loved Academy Award-winning film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, the society being a beneficiary of the Bernard Shaw Estate.”

Alexander Lewis, partner of Knight Frank Residential Development Consultancy, described it as a “rare opportunity to acquire two adjoining buildings in the heart of Chelsea”. He said: “We expect to see buyers from across the use class spectrum keen to acquire a property with elegant historic proportions and identity in one of London’s most desirable districts.”

The total existing buildings, which are held freehold, extend to approximately 8,362 sq ft altogether. 82 Drayton Gardens was originally home to the last Earl of Berkeley.