The freehold of the O2 Academy is one of 10 being auctioned by Newcastle City Council this monday, with a guide price of £625,000 and is expected to fetch more than £2m.

Run by Academy Music Group, the building has played host to scores of acts over the last 10 years, including the Prodigy, Paloma Faith and Rita Ora.

The venue’s operations will not be changed but its freehold is set to go under the hammer at a London auction, with commercial property specialists Lambert Smith Hampton acting as agents.

The firm said it represents a freehold ground rent investment, with six years left on a 99-year lease, producing £2,500 a year ground rent.

The imposing property, which dates from 1927, started life as a cinema, then a ballroom and a bingo hall, and reopened in 2005 after a major refit as a major concert/event/club venue with the main two level auditorium hosting around 2,000 people and a smaller auditorium hosting 400. There are in addition offices, bars and other areas.

The O2 Academy is lot 2 of a 44-lot auction unfolding in London on July 12, which will also include auctions of nine other freehold properties, including former council offices and industrial units, owned by Newcastle City Council.