LONDON: The BBC said yesterday it had sold its Television Center building for £200 million to a property developer as part of cost-cutting measures by the world's largest public broadcaster.

The British Broadcasting Corporation said in a statement that it had "exchanged contracts" with Stanhope Plc on Saturday for the 14-acre (5.6-hectare) site in West London.

The BBC put the 52-year-old Television Center on sale in June 2011 after Britain's coalition government imposed a funding freeze as part of austerity measures aimed at cutting a record deficit.

The BBC has operated on the site, where most of the broadcaster's national television and radio news used to be housed, since it was officially opened in 1960.

The main circular building, known to staff as the doughnut, was given "listed" heritage status in 2009, meaning that it cannot be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local authority.

Separately, Britain is to invest 9.4 billion pounds ($14.6 billion) upgrading the country's rail network, including 4.2 billion on new schemes such as reopening a line that will provide better access between northern Britain and ports on the south coast.

Other new projects include electrification of lines in the Welsh valleys and the London-Sheffield service, and a 500 million pound link that will better join London's Heathrow Airport to the national rail network.

Building work on the projects, which the government predicts will deliver capacity for an extra 140,000 daily commutes, will not start before 2014 — the announcement covers the period 2014-19.

"This investment will mean faster journeys, more seats, better access to stations, greater freight links and a truly world-class rail network," Prime Minister David Cameron said at a news conference in Birmingham.

The government said the plans would be funded, in part, from previously announced fare rises and from efficiency savings electrification will have on operating costs.

The Federation of Small Businesses said the investment was long overdue and would help small businesses better connect with customers and suppliers.

"We have long been calling for better road and rail links to be put in place so this will be welcomed by the business community," FSB chairman for infrastructure Neil Hoose.