The BBC has confirmed the sale of an iconic recording studio to a group including film composer Hans Zimmer.

The Ham & High reported in June that there were rumours the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware Road, which were on sale for £10.5 million, had been bought by the composer.

They were listed by estate agents Lambert Smith Hampton last year amid a cash crunch at the public broadcaster.

The site has now been sold to a partnership between Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, the chairmen of film studio Working Title, Hans Zimmer and his long-time business partner Stefan Kofsky.

The quartet has promised to carry out a multi-million pound refurbishment of the building, which will continue to be used as a studio space.

A not-for-profit educational facility will also be created at the site.

Maida Vale Studios was bought by the BBC in 1933 and witnessed major recordings by the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie and Dusty Springfield.

The BBC is set to open new music studios in Stratford in 2025, a vanue that will house performances, recordings and rehearsals for events such as The Proms. 

Hans Zimmer, who has worked on music for Bond films as well as the computer game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, said: “The first time I worked for the BBC at their Maida Vale Studios was 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 the place that kept a struggling musician like me from giving up.”

He added: “So now I want to close the circle – make Maida Vale Studios a place that inspires, teaches, technologically serves the arts and humanity, and gives the next generation the same opportunities I was given – to create and to never give up.”

Lorna Clarke, the BBC’s Director of Music, 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.”