Pinewood Studios recovers after losing James Bond

Bond News - 15-12-05

Pinewood Shepperton Plc, home to many James Bond movies said the purchase of a London television studio in April is boosting revenue as the company recovers from a slump in the British film industry - reports Bloomberg.

Profit warnings hit earlier in the year when it was announced that 007 would not be filming at Pinewood at all, but Casino Royale will now shoot for just one week at its traditional home.

The company said in a statement today integration of the 2.7 million-pound ($4.79 million) acquisition of Teddington Studios Ltd. has ``progressed well'' and that new tax incentives for British film production also may help growth. The stock jumped by the most in five weeks, gaining 3.9 percent.

The television business contributed to 26 percent of Pinewood Shepperton's revenue in 2004 and the company is looking to grow the business ``disproportionately'' to its other units, Chief Executive Ivan Dunleavy said in an interview.

Pinewood Shepperton, based in Buckinghamshire in southern England, was formed in 2001 after Pinewood Studios acquired Shepperton. Both studios started life in 1930s and together they have filmed several James Bond movies and more recently, the ``Da Vinci Code.'' Teddington Studios meanwhile is notable for productions such as ``The Office'' by Ricky Gervais.

The stock was up 7.5 pence to 200 pence at 11:54 a.m. in London. The shares have fallen 5 percent this year, valuing Pinewood Shepperton at 91.6 million pounds.

Pinewood Shepperton reported a loss for the six months ended June 30 as film producers waited for the U.K. government to decide on new tax rules for the industry before signing contracts with studios. The company said today Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's new tax incentives for British films, announced on Dec. 5, represented ``a significant improvement over the proposals set out in the earlier consultation document.''

The ``legislative timetable'' will continue to affect the ``film stage divisional revenues in 2006,'' Pinewood Shepperton said in the statement.

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