The BBC reported Monday (August 14) its historic Maida Vale studios have been sold to a group led by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who was famous for scoring music for films like The Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Gladiator, and most recently, Top Gun: Maverick, and his long-time business partner Steve Kofsky.
Zimmer and Kofsky bought the studio alongside Working Title Films executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who have produced films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, United 93, Mr. Bean's Holiday, and the movie adaptations of the Broadway musicals Les Miserables and Cats.
The studio was valued at £10 million, but the BBC did not disclose the purchase price.
The UK's public broadcaster further noted its intention to move its music studios to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London by 2025.
While the BBC would no longer own the site, it said the complex would remain a "center for pioneering music-making."
Long and Venerated History
Maida Vale was built in northwest London in 1909 as Britain's largest indoor roller skating rink at that time. The BBC acquired the building in 1933 and housed the BBC Symphony Orchestra ever since.
The orchestra was reportedly going to be relocated alongside the BBC's music studios to its new location by 2025.
Maida Vale hosted countless rock and pop artists, from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead and Jay-Z to Little Mix. It also hosted John Peel's famous Radio 1 sessions and the BBC's innovative Radiophonic Workshop, famed for its realization of the Doctor Who theme tune.
Zimmer's Purchase a Way of Giving Back
Before his rise to musical fame, Zimmer worked at Maida Vale 45 years ago, recalling his days there when he desired to connect to the artists whose "extraordinary music had resonated" its walls on a daily basis while struggling to excel in his craft.
"This was the place that kept a struggling musician like me from giving up," he added.
As a way of giving back to the halls that made him the musician he is, Zimmer planned to make Maida Vale a place that would inspire, teach, and technologically serve the arts and humanity, as well as give the next generation of artists an opportunity to excel like him.
Meanwhile, Working Title echoed Zimmer's sentiments, saying in a statement they are collectively determined to continue the broadcaster's legacy in the studio by attracting global talent to the UK.
"Through our redevelopment plans we will future-proof the historic site, continuing its presence in the local community with a new education facility, whilst creating a world-class studio space for the next generation of composers, producers, editors, and engineers," the statement added.
A multi-million-pound refurbishment will keep the building's original façade, refurbish the existing studios, and create a not-for-profit educational facility, the BBC said. In the years leading up to the sale, the broadcaster was criticized for selling the studios as it lowered its potential value after it was given Grade II listed status in 2020.
Chief among the critics of the sale in 2018 was Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, who called the studios an "incredibly important part" of the UK's cultural heritage just as Abbey Road Studios were during the time of The Beatles.
