Conservatives Sell HQ for £30 million

The Conservatives have sold their old headquarters in Smith Square, Westminster, in a £30.5m deal.The sale is reported to have made the party a profit of about £15m which it will use to pay off most of its debts.Labour, by contrast, owes about £23m with lenders demanding repayment.

32 Smith Square, and neighbouring flats in Tufton Street, had been sold to an undisclosed European company.

Shadow home secretary David Davis told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "I'm afraid 32 Smith Square has got old and we need to find rather more purpose-built accommodation for modern use."

The Conservatives have been trying to sell their old head office since July 2004 when they moved to more modern premises in nearby Victoria Street.The party is due to move into new offices at 30 Millbank, on the banks of the Thames, when the Victoria Street lease runs out next month.

Labour, meanwhile, still faces a £23 million-plus debt despite a £2m donation from Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal last month. The party sold its old head office in Old Queen Street for £6.5m but that was spent on repaying loans to the Co-operative bank.