26 Jan 2016 08:30
Pinewood Group plc and StoryFirst to launch Pinewood Television
Pinewood Group plc ("Pinewood"), a leading provider of services to the global film and television industry, today (26 January 2016) announces a joint venture with StoryFirst PST Limited, part of the family investment office of Peter Gerwe and partners, with investments in pay TV channels, global TV production, and media distribution platforms. The new company is named Pinewood Television Limited ("Pinewood Television") and its principal business is to create, develop and finance high quality drama series for television for the international market. Helen Gregory has been appointed Creative Director to lead the company.
Pinewood Television is expected to be both an originating producer and a co-producing partner for major drama projects looking for deficit funding. It is in the process of arranging long term external financing from a group of investors and banks to invest directly into its slate.
Pinewood Television will be looking to fill an important gap in the market acting as a one stop shop, through strong partnerships with producers, providing both development and deficit financing to them with enhanced upside economics. The company aims to become a mainstream originator and financier, building a library of TV content, once financed, it will have the ability to facilitate the development, greenlighting, production, marketing and distribution of high end TV drama.
Helen Gregory will lead the creative process from development through production to delivery to broadcasters and distributors. Helen is an award winning producer of drama and comedy for BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, ITV, C4, Five and Sky and was previously a commissioning editor for Drama at Channel Four. Her producing credits include Byker Grover, EastEnders, Grafters, In Defence, No Angels, Never Better, Perfect Day, and Case Histories. Her most recent work includes The Enfield Haunting starring Timothy Spall and Matthew MacFadyen for Sky Living, Cider With Rosie starring Samantha Morton for BBC 1, Sky Atlantic's Fortitude, BBC 2/BBC America's The Last Kingdom and Julian Fellowes's Dr Thorne for Hat Trick/The Weinstein Company and ITV. Helen is the co-creator and co-executive producer of The Catch a new US series for Shondaland/ABC.
Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive, Pinewood Group plc said:
"The global demand for high end television continues to rise dramatically and, with HETV fiscal incentives available, the Pinewood television business will participate in this growing market. Pinewood Television's offering will build on the financing experience that Pinewood and StoryFirst has developed to date."
Peter Gerwe, CEO, StoryFirst said:
"I am delighted to be in partnership with Pinewood which, with its iconic and internationally recognised brand, long history and global infrastructure will bring considerable value and a wealth of experience to this joint venture. We are fortunate to have such a strong Board of Directors comprising highly experienced industry executives to guide and build the business. We are immensely pleased that we have been able to recruit such a high profile and talented creative team. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Pinewood, developing and building Pinewood Television into world class originator and owner of high quality television drama."
Helen Gregory, Creative Director of Pinewood Television said:
"This partnership is uniquely set up as a valuable new content creator of real scale. I am thrilled by the opportunity to provide robust editorial and financial support to the ambitions of world class talent and believe Pinewood Television will be welcomed by the creative community and buyers alike."
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26th January 2016
End
Press Enquiries:
Pinewood Group plc Tel: +44 (0)1753 656732
Andrew M. Smith, Corporate Affairs Director
Corporate and Investor Enquiries:
Pinewood Television Limited
Premila Hoon OBE, Board Director Tel: +44 (0)20 83320591
Creative and Content Enquiries:
Pinewood Television Limited
Helen Gregory, Creative Director Tel: +44 (0)7789 406 797
Pinewood Group plc
The Pinewood Studios Group is a leading provider of studio and related services to the global film and television industry. Synonymous with world class British and international productions, the impressive heritage of its UK-based Pinewood and Shepperton Studios date back to the early 20th Century and are home to some of the most successful feature films and TV shows ever made.
The facilities comprise the best quality sound stages, a globally unique underwater filming stage, a wealth of specialist production resources including 3D printing and lighting, state of the art TV studios, post production and digital content services. The studios also offer easy access to the world's most experienced crews as well as the expertise of hundreds of complementary media companies based at its Pinewood, Shepperton and Wales Media Hubs.
Renowned across the globe for excellence in its field, the Pinewood brand has been exported overseas to studios in Toronto, Canada; Atlanta, Georgia USA; Iskandar, Malaysia and the Dominican Republic, and in the UK, Pinewood recently opened Pinewood Studio Wales, just outside Cardiff.
The Pinewood Group offers equity and debt financing to UK film and television production as part of its growing range of advisory services, representing media funds of both Isle of Man and Welsh Governments.
Recent film and TV productions that have used the Studios' facilities include, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Lucasfilm); SPECTRE (Eon); Everest (Universal Pictures); Avengers: Age of Ultron (Marvel Entertainment); Gravity (Warner Bros); Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Entertainment).
StoryFirst
StoryFirst is an independent media investment company with a global presence. It was established as a family investment office for projects sponsored by Peter Gerwe and partners. Previous investments include:
· CTC Media, a NASDAQ listed company and a leading broadcaster in Russia.
· HELLO! Magazine, Russia's first and market leading celebrity magazine.
· Corvette Telecom, one of Moscow's leading independent Ethernet broadband internet companies.
Current investments include interests in:
· Sony Pictures Cable Channels, a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment to operate cable channels in Russia and the CIS;
· Russ Outdoor, Russia largest billboard company,
· Hola! / Hello! TV in partnership with the Spanish family that owns the Hola! and Hello! celebrity brand and magazines to build cable channels around the globe.
StoryFirst PST Limited is a partnership vehicle with Premila Hoon OBE
Peter E. Gerwe biography:
Peter Gerwe is an American with a global footprint. Over the past thirty years he has built a number of media companies. He spent many years in Russia and founded, built and exited a number of companies including CTC Media, HELLO! Magazine, & Corvette Telecom. Currently, he operates a family investment office in London (StoryFirst) and maintains ownership interests in: Sony Pictures Cable Channels, a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment to operate cable channels in Russia and the CIS; Russ Outdoor, Russia largest billboard company, and; Hola! / Hello! TV in partnership with the Spanish family that owns the Hola! and Hello! celebrity brand and magazines to build cable channels around the globe.
Premila Hoon OBE Biography:
Premila Hoon is Managing Director of Entertainment Advisers Limited, which she co-founded in September 2009. EA is an advisory company, which provides financial, strategic and corporate finance advice to film, TV and media companies on both the buy and sell side, using its extensive industry contacts. Premila was previously Global Head of Media & Entertainment Structured Finance at Société Générale in New York and London. She led a number of major film financing transactions including the US$570m financing transaction for Dune Entertainment, the US$200m financing for Cold Spring Pictures and the US$242m financing for the acquisition of the Hallmark television channels. Prior to this, she was a director at Guinness Mahon & Co, a boutique investment bank with a strong media specialization, which was acquired by Investec in 1998. She was a governor of the British Film Institute from 1990 to 1996 and Chair of the Industry Working Group on Fiscal Policy for Film from 2004 to 2007. She was awarded an OBE in 2001 for services to the British film industry.
Forward looking statements:
This announcement includes forward looking statements that are based on current expectations and assumptions. They involve risks and uncertainties and may differ, possibly materially, from actual results, performance and achievement. Neither the Company, nor any of its Directors, undertakes any obligation to update publicly or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
For more information:
www.pinewoodgroup.com
Neither the content of the Company's website nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website, nor any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the Company.