Acclaimed film composer Hans Zimmer has bought the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, with plans to turn it into a school for musicians.
The Grade II listed studios in north west London, which have hosted musicians including David Bowie, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Beyoncé, Adele and Taylor Swift, were purchased by the BBC in 1933. It was built in 1909 as a rollerskating club.
The BBC has sold the studios to a partnership between Zimmer, his business partner Steven Kofsky, and Working Title film producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, for a reported £10.5m.
The group has announced a multimillion-pound refurbishment plan for the studios, while promising to “preserve the ethos of Maida Vale” by continuing its legacy as a centre for music-making.
The studios will be leased back to the BBC until 2025, when its new studios in Stratford will open.
The sale came despite a last-minute bid by a rival syndicate that included Sir Len Blavatnik, a major investor in Warner Music Group, and film director Matthew Vaughn. The group is said to have offered £16m for the complex of seven studios — well above the asking price.
The new owners will need to remove the asbestos in the structure and retain the building’s historic features.
