TIDMPWS
Pinewood Group PLC
26 January 2016
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."
------
26(th) 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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
NRAFMGZMRKDGVZM
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January 26, 2016 03:30 ET (08:30 GMT)
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