According to The Financial Times, EMI is currently considering offers from a number of parties interested in purchasing the legendary Abbey Road studios. The major is considering offloading the iconic recording facility in a bid to fill the much publicised gap in its finances. The paper says that five separate sources have confirmed to them that EMI bosses are indeed in talks with various bidders for a sale which could raise tens of millions of pounds.

Although one of the most iconic recording studios in the world, thanks largely to its association with The Beatles, the large size of the main Abbey Road studio means that it is rather expensive to hire, and competition from cheaper set-ups has led to a decline in its use. It does, however, remain one of the few studios large enough to accommodate a full orchestra, and so has been used by a number of film companies in recent years, including the likes of the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy.

There is also speculation that if a sale does indeed go ahead, the brand name could be separated from the building, in that the real estate would be sold to one buyer, and the rights to use the name to another. That would presumably mean the former would convert the building into apartments or offices, because, as one source told the FT, if you were planning on continuing to run the complex as a studio facility you really would need the famous name to justify the costs you have to charge to use the place.

Said source said: "The brand is worth more than the building ... anybody who wants the studios will want the brand. What you have is a very, very expensive piece of heritage. [Because of the costs], if an [average] artist goes to a label and asks to record at Abbey Road they will be met with maniacal laughter".

The house at 3 Abbey Road was bought by EMI in 1929 for £100,000 and converted into the world's first custom-built studios. It became the last EMI-owned recording studio in the UK (and one of only two in the world, with Capitol Studios in LA) after the closure of the much-loved (in the industry), more cost efficient and more often used Olympic Studios in south west London last year.

EMI has so far offered no comment on the situation.