The Building
Bartholomew House sits at the civic heart of Brighton, adjacent to Bartholomew Square — a public space that has been part of the city's social fabric for generations. The building is substantial: 51,107 square feet spread across five floors. It is not a marginal or peripheral asset. It occupies prime city-centre land, within walking distance of Brighton station, the seafront, and the main commercial district.
The building has a history of civic use. It has served multiple public and community purposes over its lifetime. The question the coalition is now asking is what its future should be — and who should make that decision.
What Is Being Proposed
According to marketing materials reviewed by the coalition — including a listing that appeared on commercial property platform LoopNet from 12 February 2026 — Bartholomew House is being offered for sale by way of a long leasehold interest. The proposed lease term is 250 years, at a peppercorn rent.
Offers in excess of £5 million are invited. The effective structure of the deal means that for a one-time payment of roughly £5 million, the purchaser would acquire control of a 51,107 sq ft building in central Brighton for 250 years — at a nominal rent. To put that in context: 250 years takes us to approximately the year 2276. No one alive today will see this deal expire.
A peppercorn rent is, in legal terms, a nominal consideration that preserves the technical form of a lease while providing the freeholder with no meaningful ongoing income. The practical effect is that the purchaser of a 250-year peppercorn lease holds something very close to freehold ownership of the building for the foreseeable future of any person now living.
The Current Tenant
Floors 3 and 4 of Bartholomew House are currently occupied by Freedom Works Ltd, a co-working provider. Their lease runs from January 2024 to January 2039 — a 15-year term at £122,422 per year, with rent review linked to the Retail Price Index. Freedom Works therefore provides a guaranteed income stream for the next 13 years, which likely forms part of the commercial case for the proposed sale.
The coalition notes that the commercial viability of the upper floors — guaranteed by an existing lease — does not diminish the potential of the remaining floors for alternative uses, including social or affordable housing. The marketing materials do not appear to address the alternative use question. They present the building purely as a commercial investment opportunity.
Offshore Investor Interest
The coalition has reviewed publicly available information relating to expressions of interest in the Bartholomew House sale. Marketing materials and associated documentation indicate that investor interest has included parties with links to Dubai and Luxembourg. The coalition is not suggesting that offshore investment is per se improper. But it is relevant context when considering whether a public asset is being disposed of in a way that maximises community benefit or financial return.
A 250-year peppercorn lease to an offshore-linked investor is the most complete form of long-term alienation of a public asset short of outright freehold sale. Once the lease is granted, the public's practical control over the building — and any future community use — depends entirely on the goodwill of the lessee or their successors for 250 years.
The Housing Arithmetic
Brighton & Hove is in the grip of a housing crisis. As of November 2025, 2,170 households were simultaneously in temporary accommodation — a figure that represents thousands of individual residents, including children, in unstable housing conditions. The council's temporary accommodation budget for 2025–26 was £28 million, with a forecast overspend of £4.8 million.
The coalition is not proposing a specific conversion scheme for Bartholomew House — that would require detailed architectural, planning, and financial assessment. What we are asserting is a prior question: before a 51,107 sq ft city-centre building is handed to private investors on a 250-year peppercorn lease, has the council seriously assessed its potential contribution to addressing the housing crisis? Has a residential conversion option been costed? Has the building been considered for use as transitional supported housing? Has a community asset transfer been explored?
We have seen no public evidence that these questions have been asked. The building appears to have been treated from the outset as a commercial disposal rather than a potential housing resource.
The Petition and Public Response
Community opposition to the proposed disposal of Bartholomew House has grown rapidly. A petition calling on the council to halt the BART's House sell-off and consider the building for social housing has gathered over 3,000 signatures as of April 2026. The Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition has supported the campaign and published supporting video content through our YouTube channel.
The response reflects a broader public concern about the disposal of public assets during a housing crisis. Brighton & Hove is not alone in facing these pressures — but it is the context in which our community must live with the consequences of these decisions.
What We Are Asking
The coalition calls on Brighton & Hove City Council to pause the marketing of Bartholomew House and conduct a full public assessment of its potential for housing use before any long leasehold is granted. Specifically, we are asking for: a published options appraisal that includes a residential/social housing conversion scenario; a community engagement process that allows Brighton residents to express their view on the building's future; and a commitment that no 250-year peppercorn lease will be granted without a Full Council vote following public consultation.
This is not an argument against all commercial disposal of public assets. It is an argument that a building of this size and location, in a city facing this level of housing need, deserves a more thorough public conversation before it passes out of effective public control for the next two and a half centuries.
"A 250-year peppercorn lease is not a disposal — it is a permanent decision. Future generations will live with it. They deserve a voice."