BBC begins sale of TV Centre

LONDON: The BBC has put its landmark Television Centre broadcasting hub up for sale under plans to cut its property holdings by 30%.

The disposal of the 51 year-old building in London's White City district could raise more than £300 million (RM1.49 billion) for the publicly-funded broadcaster.

The BBC, which originally flagged up sale plans in 2007, said yesterday it would also consider joint-venture proposals which could leave it with some presence at the site.

It has handed the marketing of the 17,000 sq m (1.83 million sq ft) location to property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton and has invited potential buyers to register interest by July 1, the BBC said.

Parts of Television Centre, including its main circular building known to staff as the "doughnut", were given Grade II listed status in 2009, meaning any move to develop or refurbish the site would be subject to planning permission.

The BBC said in April that it was aiming to cut its property holdings to 300,000 sq metres. It currently occupies 585,000 sq metres across 418 locations.

Earlier media reports put the value of the site in a range between £50 million and more than £300 million, depending on the potential for development, the amount of land included in the package, and the terms and conditions while the BBC remained a sitting tenant.

The BBC intends to vacate Television Centre by 2015 and will move the bulk of its 5,000 staff to the newly-refurbished Broadcasting House in London and MediaCityUK in Salford.

It also raised the possibility of retaining some of its staff at the site should a joint venture with a developer be agreed upon. This would see it renting back some of its studios from the new buyer to continue making programmes on the site. — Reuters