HMV sells Hammersmith Apollo for £32m

The Hammersmith Apollo, which hosted David Bowie's last performance as Ziggy Stardust, has been sold by owner HMV to an American-German joint venture.

HMV has agreed to sell the art deco venue for £32m to Stage C, a joint venture between the O2 arena's owner Anschutz and Germany's CTS, as part of a wider turnaround.

The 9,000-capacity venue, which opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, was taken over by HMV in 2010. It has played host to gigs by bands from the Beatles to Queen and Kylie Minogue.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt and allow HMV to extend £220m bank loans to September 2014. 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.