Pinewood’s investment for small-budget films

Pinewood, which is home to the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises, said it will invest up to a 20 per cent stake in films with production budgets of around £2m and intends to buy in to about four films each year.

The chosen films will have access to available space at its studios in Buckinghamshire and Surrey.

The group hopes the selected Brit flicks will echo the success of Oscar-winner The King’s Speech, which cost £9m to make and has grossed more than 245m US dollars (£150m) since its release.

Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said: “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.”

The announcement comes as the 75-year-old studios, also home to television shows such as Dancing On Ice and Dragons’ Den, posted a 31 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £5.8m in the year to December 31 and an eight per cent increase in revenues to £43.4m.

Pinewood said the chosen films would also have access to ancillary services at the studios.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt backed the move, saying: “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.”

The group’s film division, which offers 34 stages, including the largest in Europe, had a successful 2010, driving the gains in total revenue as it hosted several big-budget movies at its studios.

Film revenues were £29.1m, up from £22.6m, while TV revenues dropped to £8.2m from £11.3m.