A historic Bucks building that has been tipped to become flats has been sold for £6 million, it has been confirmed.

The Clare Charity Centre on Wycombe Road in Saunderton, currently houses dozens of charitable organisations but their future has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed in February that plans have been put forward to turn the building into 59 apartments.

This week, it has been confirmed that the building has been sold to Maplefox Ltd, a division of the MCR Property Group, for £6 million.

In a statement on the Clare Charity Centre website posted on Wednesday, it was confirmed that some of the team will be transferring over to the new owners, while the rest of the staff will be moving to the Heart of Bucks offices in Aylesbury in June.

Maplefox Ltd took over the running of the building on May 15. A prior notification application to change the estate into 59 apartments was lodged with Wycombe District Council in February, but the council has responded to say that no prior approval is required.

Martin Gallagher, CEO of the Clare Foundation, said selling the building is part of the charity’s expansion plans and the money from the sale will go into a trust in the short term.

He said: “We want to expand further than just Bucks. We already do lots of work in Herts and Beds and a bit of work in London but we want to do more.

“We’re obviously sad that we have to do what we’re doing with the building, but it is part of our pragmatic long-term view.”

The news that the building could be turned into flats came as a shock to some of the charities based within the building, with Andrew Clark, chair of trustees at Buckinghamshire Disability Service (BuDS), said it was a “disappointing end to a fantastic philanthropic initiative by the Clare Foundation.”

In response to the concerns, a statement on the charity centre’s website said: “We are sorry that our decision did cause considerable unease and difficulties for our tenants and some partners and have worked tirelessly in the background to minimise this and help other find either new locations or new offices.

“We think most are now sorted on this front and the new owners are in discussions with the remaining tenants to resolve issues.”

New plans for the Clare Foundation are expected to be revealed in the autumn.