Yahoo Finance Duchy of Lancaster generates an extra £1m for the Queen
The Queen’s income from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate jumped £1m last year to almost £20m, according to new 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 show that its net asset value, or how much the estate is 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 year previously. 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”.
Spanning thousands of hectares, the portfolio includes rural land across eight English counties and in South Wales, ten castles, and a number of historic buildings including on the Savoy Estate in central London and in Harrogate.
The Queen also owns a number of industrial and warehouse properties, and the report said that the Duchy has identified a number of sites where homes could be built in the year ahead.
In January, the Duchy secured planning permission from Westminster City Council for the refurbishment of a building called Norman House on the Strand, the largest single refurbishment project ever undertaken by the estate.
Royal accounts released last month showed the Queen’s annual expenditure increased by around 13pc as a major programme of renovations, which are expected to last for 10 years, began at Buckingham Palace.
