A hint has been shared on the future of a cash-strapped Nottinghamshire NHS trust's headquarters after it was put up for sale.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), which operates the county's mental health services, is selling its Duncan Macmillan House building in Porchester Road, Mapperley, as it seeks funding to support improvements to care.
In November, the trust, which has been frequently criticised during inquests into patient deaths and will soon be scrutinised by the Nottingham Inquiry over how it cared for paranoid schizophrenic killer Valdo Calocane, said it was £4.4 million behind a recovery plan meant to tackle issues with its finances.
The trust was running a £17 million deficit by the end of October - the seventh month of its financial year - despite putting in place a financial recovery plan to cut costs.
The sale of Duncan Macmillan House - and the resulting relocation of staff to Highbury Hospital and its designation as the trust's new HQ - will raise a substantial amount for the trust and reduce operating costs.
Selling off the large and ageing former lunatic asylum will cut down on ever-increasing maintenance costs, saving the taxpayer money, according to NHFT.
It is hoped these savings can support the trust's ongoing financial recovery programme.
The sale price of the hospital-turned-headquarters has not been disclosed, with bidders informed by marketer Innes England that this information will be shared upon application.
Innes England said the 8.95-acre site could continue to be used as an office or health centre, but also hinted it had potential for "alternative uses and/or redevelopment".
Offers are being invited on a conditional or unconditional basis for the entire site by noon on February 27, 2026.
The 19th-century structure was originally built as Mapperley Hospital and has been part of mental health care in Nottinghamshire for nearly 150 years, with it being used more as an office and administrative space since the 1900s.
The site is named after Dr Duncan Macmillan, who, according to the NHFT, pioneered community-based approaches to mental health care in the 1960s and 1970s.
Innes England told potential buyers that the property had "excellent transport links" which include frequent bus routes linking to the city centre and nearby suburbs, including Arnold, Sherwood and Gedling.
The property is also within two miles of Nottingham's inner ring road, which provides access to the wider city and M1.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was contacted for comment on the projected timeline for the sale, but said it could not provide any update at the moment.
In late 2024, NHS England took enforcement action against the trust in response to concerns over its quality, leadership, governance and financial performance.
These worries were identified by a special review into the trust in the wake of patient Calocane's killings in June 2023.
The care provider will face heavy scrutiny when the Nottingham Inquiry, a judge-led examination of how the failures of public bodies contributed to the deaths of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates, hears evidence in February next year.