The BBC has sold its Maida Vale Studios to a partnership that includes Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and film producer Tim Bevan.
The complex of seven sound studios was bought by the BBC in 1933 and has cemented a place in music history with recordings from The Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Dusty Springfield.
The partnership will also include producer Steven Kofsky and Eric Fellner, who co-chairs Working Title Films with Bevan.
The new owners have made assurances that its legacy as “a centre for pioneering music-making” will continue, also vowing to retain the rendered Edwardian façade which was granted Grade II-listed status in 2020.
A multi-million pound planned refurbishment will update the existing studios and fund the creation of a not-for-profit educational facility.
Describing the complex as “a place of revolutionary science in the service of art”, Zimmer recalled the first time he worked for the BBC at the Maida Vale Studios 45 years ago.
“I was just a kid, in awe, honoured to be booked to play on one of my first sessions. I still remember the strong pull, the desire to touch the walls, as if that would somehow allow me to connect to the artists whose extraordinary music had resonated against these walls on a daily basis.
“This was a place that inspired you to give your best, where music was performed around the clock and art was taken seriously. For the people by the people. This was the place that kept a struggling musician like me from giving up.”
The BBC, who first announced the closure of the studios in June 2018, listed the complex for £10.5 million last year, although final sale price details are not yet available on the Land Registry.
It will move operations to East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, dubbed “London’s newest creative quarter”, in partnership with the V&A, Sadler’s Wells, UCL and UAL’s London College of Fashion. The new studio is set to open in late 2025 and will include two spaces for public concerts.
Lorna Clarke, Director of Music at the BBC said: “Maida Vale has played such an important part in the BBC’s history, and its significance in popular culture is huge.
“We are so pleased to secure a sale which looks to continue the bright, vibrant future of music making in this iconic building — not only providing new studio spaces but jobs and an education facility.
“We look forward to being able to continue to deliver world-class music to BBC audiences with our new tailor-made BBC Music Studios in the wonderfully rich cultural district of London’s East Bank.”
