Councillors have agreed to sell Methold House on North Street to Guild Care, after talks that began before 2018. The charity says it secures its future there.

Guild Care is set to buy its own head office. Worthing Borough Council has agreed to sell Methold House on North Street to the charity, which has been its tenant for decades.

The Joint Strategic Committee approved the sale plan on 8 September. The decision record authorises officers to instruct solicitors and valuers and complete the freehold sale.

It ends a long negotiation. The committee report says talks with Guild Care “have been going on since before 2018”. Several valuations were commissioned along the way. Heads of terms were finally agreed in late July 2026.

What the charity says it will do

Guild Care has also refurbished Holland House next door. It says owning both buildings lets it create a “Community Hub Campus” in the town’s Civic Quarter. In a statement included in the council’s report, the charity said:

“The ownership of Methold House will enable the Community Hub Campus to provide charitable services to thousands of local residents for generations to come.”

The charity says the two buildings will support:

  • older people
  • people living with dementia
  • carers
  • children and adults with learning disabilities

It says Methold House plays “a critical role” in its support for adults with learning disabilities and their families. Its Community Hub page sets out the plans and is taking donations towards them.

The price is secret, for now

The sale price and the current rent are in an exempt appendix, so they have not been published. The report says the price will become public once the sale is registered at HM Land Registry.

The council says the price matches a “Red Book” valuation it commissioned early in 2026. That matters because the law requires councils to get the best price reasonably obtainable when they sell land.

Other facts from the report:

  • The building dates from 1974. It was first used by the Worthing and District Council of Social Service and has been in charitable use since it was built.
  • The site covers about 0.649 acres, including a small extension once used for WRVS Meals on Wheels.
  • Guild Care’s main lease runs to 2072, at what the report calls “a low rental level”. A second lease, on the extension, has expired and is being renegotiated in case the sale falls through.
  • The council saves nothing on upkeep, because the charity already pays for repairs under a full repairing lease.
  • The money will go towards paying down council debt. There is no borrowing tied to this building, so the whole net receipt can be used that way.

The council considered two alternatives: a long ground lease, which Guild Care did not want, and renegotiating the existing leases, which the report says was not viable.

Methold House timeline: 1933 Guild Care founded; 1974 Methold House completed; negotiations under way before 2018; early 2026 Red Book valuation; late July 2026 heads of terms agreed; 8 September 2026 sale plan approved; 18 September 2026 call-in deadline; 2072 main lease would have expired

A Worthing charity since 1933

Guild Care was set up in Worthing in 1933 by volunteers. The council’s report says that in the 1930s it ran free school milk, free dental treatment for adolescents, a soup kitchen and legal aid, well before the NHS existed. It opened its first care home in 1943 and merged with Worthing Scope in 2018.

Today it runs more than 30 community services, reaching over 3,000 people and their families a year. They include home care, community transport, day services for older people and three care homes. The report describes it as one of the largest employers in Worthing, with more than 650 staff and over 300 volunteers.

What it means for you

  • Guild Care’s services at Methold House carry on. The report says the charity will continue to provide them from the site.
  • The decision is not final yet. Councillors can call it in until 5pm on 18 September. If nobody does, it comes into force on 19 September.
  • To contact Guild Care about its services or volunteering, its website lists every service. Its registered office is Methold House, North Street, Worthing BN11 1DU.

The same committee meeting also heard the latest on the delayed Worthing Integrated Care Centre.

Sources