Following many rumours circulating last year, EMI have announced that they are, in fact, to sell the infamous recording studios at Abbey Road. The studios owe most of their current status to The Beatles 11th album, which took its name from the studios where the fab four spent a substantial proportion of the 1960s.
EMI has been experiencing serious financial difficulty since it was taken over by Terra Firma in 2007. Terra Firma paid £4.2billion for the label that houses the likes of Robbie Williams, Lily Allen and Coldplay, but since the recession kicked in, the label is now valued at £2billion less. Now, EMI is claiming that it needs £120million to stay afloat and prevent repossession by Citigroup, who financed the Terra Firma takeover.
It is unclear whether EMI will sell the property together with the 'Abbey Road' brand, though it would certainly make most financial sense. To quote one media lawyer in the Financial Times, "The brand is worth more than the building ... anybody who wants the studios will want the brand."