Property crash stops NUJ selling London HQ

The fall in property prices has stopped the NUJ from going ahead with plans to sell its London HQ and move in with broadcasting union BECTU.
The union had hoped to cash in by selling Headland House in King's Cross which in pre-recession days looked set to have a property boom as the area was redeveloped with the arrival of Eurostar at St. Pancras.
But the latest report from the NUJ's policy making National Executive Council states: "With the state of the property market having put an end to plans to sell Headland House and share a new building it is expected the union will reorganise staff and now rent out one floor at its London HQ to bring in around £45,000 per annum."
The report also says: "The union will face a deficit of £500,000 a year by September 2012 unless action is taken to raise income and cut expenditure, general secretary Jeremy Dear told the NEC.
"With job losses having an impact on union membership levels the NEC backed action to 'bring spending back in to line with our projected income'. Work done by the union’s finance team show that based on just a 2% fall in income for each of the next 3 years the union will need to find an additional half a million pounds a year in additional income or cuts in expenditure by 2012 to achieve a balanced budget."
A draft action plan covering union buildings, subscriptions, membership as well as expenditure on ADM, staffing, services, administration and all other areas of the union’s work is currently the subject of joint consultations with three staff unions.
Proposals to charge an administrative fee in respect of some legal cases are to be investigated.