Pinewood Shepperton plc to Invest in British Films
09/03/2011Pinewood Shepperton plc has this week announced that it will be providing facilities and co-investment to support smaller budget British films. The Company will target films with production budgets of circa £2m each and will invest equity up to 20 per cent per film.
In addition to any expected return from this investment Pinewood will also benefit from these films using latent studio capacity at its sites and the expected take-up of ancillary services at the studios. This arrangement will also bring fiscal benefits to the Company in its role as a supporter of British film productions. It is anticipated that Pinewood will invest in four productions annually, which will be selected by industry partners on behalf of the Company.
This move by Pinewood is consistent with the Government's stated aim to create a sustainable long term British film industry.
Commenting on this announcement, Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive said:
"British film has enjoyed extraordinary success recently, and in its seventy-fifth anniversary year, I am delighted that Pinewood is returning, on a small scale, to its heritage in British film production. Although our financial commitment to each film will be relatively small, we can, in addition, offer British films access to the world class facilities and production expertise at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios which would normally be beyond their budget."
Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport added:
"We are delighted that Pinewood is showing its support for smaller British film productions. As the recent success of The King's Speech demonstrates, smaller British films have the potential to become smash hits globally and any support that the industry can offer producers, we welcome. This new private sector investment is a sign of confidence in the Government's film policy. Pinewood has a long heritage as a centre for film making excellence and with this announcement, demonstrates that it continues to sit at the heart of the British film industry."