Academy of St Martin in the Fields buys The Warehouse in Waterloo as its first permanent home
The orchestra has taken over the London Festival Orchestra, owner of the Waterloo rehearsal and recording studios, and will make it the base for Ensemble Unheard, its orchestra of people experiencing homelessness.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) has completed its acquisition of the London Festival Orchestra (LFO), giving it a permanent home for the first time in its history. The deal, which completed on 22 October 2026, brings with it The Warehouse in Waterloo, one of London’s most valued rehearsal and recording spaces.
The orchestra, founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, will use the building as the principal base for its rehearsals, recordings and social-purpose work. Its musicians, offices, library and archive will be under one roof for the first time. The LFO business becomes a trading subsidiary of the charity, with all profits donated to ASMF.
A legacy passed on
The Warehouse was created in the 1990s by Ross Pople, the cellist and founder of the LFO, who restored a derelict Victorian building into a home for his orchestra. The LFO became the first British orchestra to own a permanent, independent home. After a near-fatal skiing accident in 2012 Pople could no longer conduct, and the orchestra stopped performing, but he stayed at the helm of the venue.
Pople recalls first seeing it in 1993 as ‘a derelict Victorian monster of perfect proportions in a perfect location’. To raise the money he sold his Testori cello, a gift from Yehudi Menuhin, who gave his blessing. His wife, Anne, gave the building its name. ASMF’s chief executive, Annie Lydford, approached him in spring 2025, and he says she offered ‘a perfect solution to the growing concern of an old musician’.
Over the decades the studios have hosted artists including Menuhin, Daniel Barenboim, Pinchas Zukerman, Pierre Boulez, Martha Argerich, Mitsuko Uchida, Murray Perahia, Joshua Bell and Marriner himself, as well as pop names such as Annie Lennox, Jamiroquai and Shirley Bassey.
Independence and ambition
Lydford said the orchestra was ‘honoured’ to be entrusted with the building. She pointed to ASMF’s history as an entrepreneurial and independent ensemble that has thrived without regular public funding. Income from running The Warehouse will be reinvested in the orchestra’s core work, and she argued that artistic ambition and financial sustainability must go hand in hand.
ASMF has never received regular Arts Council England funding, and the release describes the purchase as part of a period of growth since 2022, as touring and arts funding come under pressure. It is a rare move for an independent British orchestra to own and run its own building. Alongside its historic performance home at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the orchestra now has a permanent operational base.
Joshua Bell, ASMF’s Music Director for the past 15 years, has rehearsed with the players at The Warehouse many times. He called it ‘especially meaningful’ to see the space become their permanent home, adding that the trust and freedom behind the orchestra’s music-making ‘need time and space to flourish’.
Ensemble Unheard and the wider community
The building will also house Ensemble Unheard, the orchestra formed by people experiencing homelessness, and will serve as the home venue for ASMF’s talent development projects. Callum Given, the orchestra’s Director of Social Purpose, said research and conversations with participants had shown that the environment and ‘the welcome’ are critical in helping people to thrive. A dedicated space, he said, will be ‘influenced and directed by those who participate’.
The studios will remain open to the wider music industry. Plans include work and social spaces for musicians, coaching rooms and studios for affordable hire, intimate public performances and greater access for local community groups. ASMF also intends to invest in acoustic improvements and, in the longer term, to build an education suite, for which planning permission has already been granted.
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said the Mayor’s office was delighted to have supported the acquisition. She noted that orchestral rehearsal space in London is increasingly scarce.
Funding the next step
The purchase was funded by a syndicate of philanthropists in the US and UK. ASMF thanked lead donors Maria Cardamone and Paul Matthews, Arnold and Kate Schmeidler, and A Michael Lipper and Ruth C Lipper, among others. Cardamone said the musicians’ ‘artistry, generosity and commitment deserve a permanent home’.
Having secured the acquisition funding, ASMF is launching a campaign, Our Players. Our Purpose. Our Future. Our Home., to raise a further £500,000 by April 2027. The money will pay for the building’s transition and initial improvements.
