Lights, cameras, auction: Ciudad de la Luz film studios to go under hammer

THE Ciudad de la Luz film studios complex is to be sold off in lots. The board of directors in Alicante has approved the specifications for the sale of the centre in six batches, as reported in a statement from the Generalitat Valenciana regional government.
Proposals are now open and will remain open until July 7. The starting price is €94.4 million for the whole complex which interested parties can bid on, or bids can be made on individual lots starting at €5.7 million. The Ciudad de la Luz will be awarded to the highest bidder, whether that be the cumulative amount from bids on various lots, or on the whole studio complex.
In December last year, an American investment group, led by director Francis Ford Coppola, registered their interest in buying the Ciudad de la Luz and were reported to have made an offer of around €80 million. It is unclear whether the group will resubmit a higher bid.
The Ciudad de la Luz must be sold after the European Commission (EC) considered that the complex could not repay the aid injected in to it by the government, amounting to some €265 million.
In its heyday, the film studios were used during the filming of 64 movies, including France’s most expensive film ever Asterix at the Olympic Games, helping create a revenue of €194 million, 5,300 jobs and 160,000 overnight stays in Alicante.