Hammersmith Apollo in London sold by HMV to Stage C - BBC News
Entertainment venue Hammersmith Apollo which has held concerts by bands from The Beatles to Queen, has been sold by its owner HMV.
HMV agreed to sell the west London art deco venue to American-German joint venture Stage C for £32m.
The 9,000-capacity venue was taken over by entertainment retailer HMV in 2010.
HMV chief Simon Fox said: "The Hammersmith Apollo is an iconic London venue and it has been a privilege to own it over the last three years."
The venue opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, as part of a wider turnaround.
It has played host to many famous performances, including David Bowie's last concert as alter-ego Ziggy Stardust in 1973.
It is also the eponymous venue in the BBC stand-up comedy series Live at the Apollo.
Stage C is jointly owned by London's indigO2 operator Ansco Music Club, a subsidiary of US company Anschutz Entertainment, and a subsidiary of Munich-based CTS Eventim.
The sale is conditional on banking approvals, shareholder approval and Stage C securing regulatory approvals.
With 252 stores in the UK, HMV said the sale allowed it to focus on its core retail business, while the proceeds from the disposal would be used to reduce the group's outstanding debt.
The sale follows a decision to place its HMV Live division, which runs 13 venues and a number of festivals including Lovebox in London and Global Gathering near Stratford-upon-Avon, under review.
The entertainment retailer recently surprised the City by forecasting a return to profit in 2013 despite estimated losses of about £19m for the past financial year.
London borough refuses ‘ugly’ broadband cabinets, and faster Internet speeds - TECH.BLORGE.com
Working online from home means I need a fast and stable Internet connection. If it goes down, slows down, or is interrupted in any way I can’t get my work out and consequently don’t get paid. And I’m far from being alone in this new Internet-centric world we find ourselves living in. Businesses increasingly need fast and stable Internet connections to compete.
Unfortunately for businesses located in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea the look of the area means more to the council than Internet speeds. According to BBC News, Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council has blocked 96 of the 108 broadband cabinets BT needs to install in order to deliver faster Internet speeds to its customers.
The council’s reasoning is that the larger cabinets would ruin the “historic streetscape.” In other words they’re just too ugly. Granted the cabinets aren’t as visually appealing as they could be – they’re green metal boxes – but this is function over form. They do what they’re meant to do and nothing more.
There are already broadband cabinets installed across the borough, but these new ones are required to deliver increased speeds from the current 16Mbps to 76Mbps. The difference in size is minimal: the current boxes are 1.15m high by 1.37m wide, while the new boxes are 1.6m tall by 1.2m wide. This is hardly an epic change for the worse.
This is a classic case of a council out of touch with the way of the world. Schemes to protect the look and feel of an area are fine in principle, but when they start to affect the needs of the people living in the area then there should be some flexibility. And access to the Internet is a need rather than a want for many people in this day and age.
Related Posts:
London 2012 Olympics: cricket legend Steve Waugh to be Australian Athlete Liaison Officer for Games - Daily Telegraph
"Last time around I think I maybe had one night off. I would just get up first thing in the morning and go right through to midnight and it will be the same again in London. I just love all sports – especially when Australia is competing!"
Waugh has backed London to be a success. But, perhaps unable to suppress anti-English feelings, he predicts it will be no better than the Games held in his homeland, in 2000.
"It is the buzz of the city [that's getting me excited] – everyone is ready for it," he continued. "The venues are fantastic, there are sell-out crowds, there is a real buzz and great history of sport in the UK and the people are really behind this.
"It's a great city and they are fantastic spectators, the English. They'll be cheering for their home crowd, which is natural, but the Australians will get a lot of support. They'll be surprised.
"I've played Ashes tours and there's an amazing amount of Aussies living in the UK and they will make some noise. We'll get very good support.
"London 2012 has a real feel about it of Sydney 2000. I think it will be just as good."
0 Responses to "Hammersmith Apollo in London sold by HMV to Stage C - BBC News"
Post a Comment