The world famous AIR Studios, originally set up by Sir George Martin back in 1969, has now been sold to a Russian investor for an undisclosed amount.

The studio was bought back in 2006 by Richard Boote and Paul Woolf, who are now both in their late 60s. Although the new owner of Air Studios hasn’t been named it is widely reported to be Russian businessman Maxim Demin, who is still a major shareholder in Bournemouth football club who currently play in the British Premier League according to the entry for him on Wikipedia.

The studio, based at Lyndhurst Hall in Hampstead, North London, has not commented yet.

However, speaking to Billboard magazine, Paul Woolf did say that the new owner was committed to investing in the business and preserving AIR's status as one of the world's premier recording facilities…

"They have met all our staff and reassured them about the future of the studio and investment into the studio and that's exactly the kind of buyer we were looking for. We wanted someone who wanted to maintain it and that we could pass on the baton to. We're super delighted,"

Apparently not every offer shared his vision of how the business should continue...

"We had one offer from someone who wanted to turn it into a live venue. We had someone else who had a big vision of turning it into something else entirely. There were people who loved the idea of buying it, but had no money. Other people who had the money, but had no idea what they wanted to do with it – a whole mix."

Paul Woolf went on to say that the buyer made an offer after visiting the studio and seeing it for themselves…

"They walked in and said, 'I want it.' They were absolutely determined to buy it. They said they love music. Had always wanted to buy a recording studio and wanted to continue the process we had started. The atmosphere and ethos at AIR has never been corporate, so we were very pleased when the buyer turned up because it meant that family culture at the heart of AIR would continue. I would say that there is definitely a cultural difference when you're owned by individuals than when you're owned by a corporation."

You may remember that last autumn Air Studios finally won a two-year legal battle to stop a neighbour from building a basement cinema, sauna, hot tub and swimming pool that they feared would force the studio to close.

So where does this leave the iconic Air Studios? It seems to be a strange purchase for a Russian businessman whose background is from the petrochemicals industry and as a trader. Will he continue the business with the same ethos of the previous owners and maintain an “atmosphere and ethos at AIR has never been corporate” and honour the pledge given to Paul Woolf that having “met all our staff and reassured them about the future of the studio and investment into the studio”?

Only time will tell, we await to see how the next chapter in the story of this iconic studio will play out…