Savills has brought the long leasehold interest of The Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, west London, the film studios where the BBC once filmed famous shows such as Top of the Pops and Doctor Who.
Savills has been appointed by the administrators Richard Lewis, Alistair Wardell and Oliver Haunch of Grant Thornton UK. The Riverside Trust announced that it had filed for administration last month, thanks to “eye-watering” energy costs.
The property comprises the commercial element of a mixed-use development which was redeveloped before reopening in August 2019. Riverside Studios has a 45-year history as a home of film, comedy, art, dance, music and television. Until 1974, it was one of the homes of the BBC, which filmed the likes of Have I Got News for You and Hancock's Half Hour there. It was first used for film in 1933.
The premises operates as an arts centre with a restaurant and two anchor tenants, Sam’s Riverside, which offers a fine dining experience, and Riverside Television Studios, which hosts television productions.
The studios are arranged over ground, basement, first and second floors and are laid out to provide a range of uses including its restaurant and bakery, two studios with a further studio leased to Riverside Television Studios, two cinema screens, events space and associated rehearsal, dressing rooms and production rooms as well as office space for its own use and rental.
The commercial element spans more than 95,000 square feet and is held on a long lease expiring in 2214 at a peppercorn rent.
The property occupies a Thameside location in Hammersmith on Queen Caroline Street.
Paul Breen, director in the licensed leisure team at Savills, said in a statement: “The Riverside Studios presents a unique opportunity to acquire a long leasehold property in a highly desirable riverside location in West London. It is a state of the art purpose-built facility with a uniquely central proposition in the arts and culture sector. With the scarcity of this type of opportunity and the incredibly high barriers of entry, we expect there will be significant and diverse demand in the market place from both potential occupiers and investors.”