More information about the FAQ ‘why doesn’t NFWI move from London to Denman College?’

Denman: Updated FAQs

Following last week’s announcement about the proposed closure of Denman, we have updated the FAQs on My WI. See more at: https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/nfwi-news/articles/denman-update

After several queries from members, we have added an extended answer in response to the question about moving the NFWI London Office to Denman.

The suggestion of moving our national head office to the Denman Estate is one that has been raised and explored on a number of occasions over time and particularly in the last 10 years since Denman has experienced financial challenges. Whilst the idea is initially an attractive one, there are a number of reasons why this option has not previously (and is not currently) being explored.

The key point that needs to be noted is that NFWI and Denman College are separate charitable entities (Denman College is a separate trust with narrower objects, managed by NFWI), therefore no financial exchange can take place between the two organisations without an appropriate legal process.

It isn’t a simple case of NFWI selling its head office and transferring the proceeds of the sale to Denman College. The NFWI has wider objects than those of Denman College and has to consider a number of factors including the risks involved with losing the majority of the central NFWI staff team, the loss of a valuable NFWI asset through the sale of 104 New Kings Road and the need for costly renovation or building work to accommodate the team on the Denman Estate.

As separate charitable entities, the most likely scenario would be that any use by NFWI of the Denman Estate as a head office would be as a tenant of Denman College paying rent. This is the case with the current arrangement already in existence with the NFWI Unit team, who many of you will know already rent space on the Denman Estate. Even if NFWI took up residence at Denman Estate and paid rent to use space there as a head office, this would not sufficiently change the current financial position of Denman College – it would still need to run as a separate charitable entity, generate sufficient income to cover its costs and deliver on its charitable objects.

Unfortunately, Denman College has struggled financially for some time now and this has been exacerbated by the COVID 19 lockdown and ongoing restrictions. We took the decision to close Denman College because otherwise, we would have needed to find £1.8m by the end of August 2020 to keep it operating until the end of December 2020 (with no guarantees of its financial security in 2021). Even if NFWI were able to donate the funds from the sale of the London office (minus costs for relocation, renovation work etc) the sum required to save Denman College and the timescales in which these funds would be required mean that the sale would not offer a meaningful lifeline to Denman College and would be financially detrimental to both Denman College (as its capacity would be limited for other activities) and NFWI (which would have sold a valuable asset).

We do however regularly review the viability of our London office and the options available to us in the best interests of NFWI and will continue to do so in the future, regardless of the outcome of the current proposal relating to Denman College.