You’ve probably heard that 3 Savile Row, the HQ for Apple Corps and the site of the Beatles' so-called rooftop gig in January 1969, is being converted into a museum that will open next year. But what about the company’s other address, its location for over three decades?
Well, as Apple moves back to Savile Row, it’s quietly putting its Knightsbridge HQ at 27 Ovington Square up for sale.
The sale is being conducted through the estate agents Noble Harris, who have described it as “a chance to acquire a property with an extraordinary story”. It’s a Grade II listed Victorian townhouse arranged over six floors, with the third and fourth for residential use. It has 12 rooms, including no less than six bedrooms and as you’d expect, has approval for both office and residential use.
Needless to say, it doesn’t come cheap. Knightsbridge is among Britain’s most expensive districts – properties on Ovington Square regularly go for between £5 and £7 million, and when you add the Beatles factor, it’s possible the eventual price could reach eight figures.
Ovington Square is bound to arouse interest among members of the super-rich who also count themselves as Beatles fans - two sectors of a Venn diagram with a considerable overlap, you'd think. Noble Harris have merely said that: “Our clients wish to pass the legacy of the property to the right candidate.”
Meanwhile, a few more details have emerged about the new visitor attraction that will open up at 3 Savile Row next year. It's going to be called simply 'The Beatles at 3 Savile Row' and will feature seven floors of never-seen-before material from Apple's archives, rotating exhibitions, a fan store, and the recreation of the original studio where Let It Be was recorded. Fans will also have the chance to tread in the band's footsteps on the exact rooftop where they played their final gig on 30 January 1969.
In a statement, Tom Greene, Apple Corps current CEO has said: “Every single day, fans are taking pictures of the outside of 3 Savile Row - but next year they can go in and explore all seven floors of the iconic building, including the rooftop where even the railings remain the same from that famous day in 1969.”
An exact opening date for the museum has yet to be confirmed.
