RAVENSCRAIG Hospital and its vast grounds were officially valued at £850,000 just months before the site and its historic listed building were secretly sold for a pound, the Telegraph can reveal.

The figure was set by the district valuer in 2016 prior to the property being covertly offloaded to private company and social housing provider Link Group Ltd in March 2017.

Bosses at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde are today coming under increasing pressure over the bargain basement deal brokered with Link and completed with the help of the Scottish Government's More Homes division.

The health board insist that the £1 price tag was what was 'achievable on the open market'.

But the former hospital and its sprawling grounds were never placed on the open market.

Instead, NHS GGC used property agents Montagu Evans to market the building alone - without its surrounding land - whilst conducting behind the scenes talks with Link.

Former provost Ciano Rebecchi — who slammed the deal as a 'scandal' last year — claims that at one stage he saw a valuation for Ravenscraig, under the former Argyll & Clyde Health Board, of £15 million.

Councillor Rebecchi said: "It was fifteen million one year and then eight million the next. This was around 2003 or 2004.

"I questioned at the time the seven million devaluation but didn't get an adequate answer.

"Property generally goes up in value, not down."

Another Inverclyde councillor is asking serious questions of NHS GGC over the figures.

Councillor Colin Jackson said: "At the time of this deal the land was on the previous health board's balance sheet valued at £15 million.

"What were the substantial infrastructure costs that resulted in this land being devalued by an eye watering £14.15 million?

"Are NHS GGC saying this land was deliberately devalued and sold for £1 to offset their liabilities?

Police Scotland's Economic Crime Unit are today continuing to investigate matters regarding the land at Ravenscraig.

It had previously been earmarked for a mix of private and social housing but a contamination report confirmed there are 'multiple exceedances' of dangerous chemicals in the ground.

Link was last year granted permission by Inverclyde Council's Planning Board to build 198 homes on the polluted site and stands to receive £15.3 million of public money for doing so.

A spokesperson for NHS GGC said: "The figure of £850,000 was the asset value of the site in 2016 and was prepared for accounts purposes and financial reporting.

"This is not the same as the market value.

"The market value is the price achievable on the open market, taking into consideration a whole range of different factors.

"The market value of the Ravenscraig site was deemed to be £1."

The health board also stated: "The value of the Ravenscraig site was set by the district valuer who took into consideration a number of factors.

"The report highlighted the substantial infrastructure and abnormal costs required to develop the site. This 2016 report valued the site at £850,000.

"The district valuer tested out a number of development assumptions for the site, none of which resulted in a positive value for NHS GGC and this concluded the market value.

"The transfer to More Homes removed a substantial ongoing financial liability for the board.

"Rather than use taxpayers' money to provide security at empty buildings the transfer enabled funding to be re-directed to the state-of-the-art Orchard View on the IRH campus."

A Scottish Government spokesman has previously stated: "The transfer of this land from the Scottish Government More Homes Division to Link was carried out in accordance with all due process."