| No one who can afford it is not going to lay down the cash without doing their due diligence and one part of that is determining asking price so they would know if that price is anywhere near market value. |
Very true Dak. But how would you, as a real estate expert, determine value on a facility like that? AIR Lyndhurst is one of the most famous studios in the world - and one of the largest. Would you do comps based on similar size / condition buildings in the same general area as the main valuation criteria, or would you consider the price tags of other similarly sized famous studio facilities elsewhere around the world somehow too? How much do the upgrades as a studio facility (not counting the equipment - merely the architectural acoustics and build-out) figure into the evaluation?
I suspect the history of the place would also figure in somehow, but I have no idea how you'd quantify that in terms of the price or worth of the place. I do believe it's a Grade II* Listed building, which means it is a "particularly important building of more than special interest", and as such, it's in the top ten percent of protected buildings in the UK. It's like 3 Abbey Road - except Abbey Road and the zebra crossing are both only Listed Grade II, which is the lesser grade. If they're not going to let Abbey Road be turned into condos, I doubt they're going to allow any significant changes to Lyndhurst. And while it seems to do well in terms of bookings for Lyndhurst Hall, there are a lot more rooms involved in the sale than just that one... which leads to the big question:
In this day and age, can anyone keep a facility that big busy enough to pay for it?
Obviously they're in a good position in terms of diversification - you've got the ability to do huge scoring dates, as well as live events, post-production for film and TV, pop music sessions, etc. etc. But that's still a ton of rooms to try to keep booked.
What do you guys think? Can it be pulled off in the current music biz environment and climate?
**********
"It shouldn't be expected that people are necessarily doing what they appear to be doing on records."
- Sir George Martin,
All You Need Is Ears
"The music business will be revitalized by musicians, not the labels or Live Nation. When the musicians decide to put music first, instead of money, the public will flock to the fruits and the scene will be healthy again."
- Bob Lefsetz,
The Lefsetz Letter
Help Desk