Memorandum submitted by Left Bank Pictures
I am the Chief Executive of Left Bank Pictures,
a company which makes both feature films and television drama.
We launched the company on 1 July 2007. BBC Worldwide took a 25%
stake in the company for £1 million. In exchange, BBC Worldwide
have a senior representative on our board and have a first look
to distribute all of our programming output for the next five
years.
Left Bank Pictures was set up to produce quality
top end dramas and comedy series for the UK and international
market. There was a lot of interest in my new company as I had
enjoyed a strong track record at ITV where I had worked for 15
years in jobs that included Controller of Drama, Comedy and Film
and Controller of Entertainment. I was also the Producer of the
movie The Queen and award winning TV shows that I helped
to launch and produce included The Royle Family, Cold
Feet, Prime Suspect, Cracker, The Deal and
Longford.
1. Why did we go with BBC Worldwide?
I had several offers from a range of different
sorts of potential investors. I met with a wide variety of media
tycoons, from Martin Sorrell and Richard Branson to many US entrepreneurs
such as John Feltheimer at the fast growing Lionsgate.
It was clear to me that a programme distributor
was the most suitable and preferably a UK one. It simply made
the most sense. The business of Left Bank was producing TV shows.
The company needed to get its product distributed and distributed
well. BBC Worldwide is the best in this country and BBC Worldwide
needs more shows to distribute in order for it to continue to
grow. Worldwide needs partnerships. I was looking for a partnership
that made sense for my new business. Worldwide did. I turned down
two other distributors who offered similar but not as good deals
and rejected the advances from the US based companies.
2. What did BBC Worldwide offer?
The £1 million investment guaranteed that
the company would be solvent for at least a year. The money was
just sufficient to launch a team of seven people (myself included)
with office, overheads and development spend. Worldwide also provide
brilliant support. The executive team at Worldwide are terrific.
John Smith, Wayne Garvie and Helen Jackson have helped us enormously.
We work very closely together and plan productions and the recoupment
strategy very carefully. The BBC team combine their selling expertise
and worldwide contacts with our considerable production experience.
It's perfect. Raising money for co-productions is one of the most
important parts of the business these days. Production companies
like ours need a real dialogue and support in order to close the
complex deals involved. The numbers are big. Today's international
TV budgets are frequently bigger than movies. Wallander, for example,
cost a total of £7.5 million for three films.
3. How have we got on?
Left Bank secured its first commission from
ITV with support from the Irish broadcaster RTE for a four part
£5 million thriller within six months. This was followed
by confirmation of a major new series (three x 90 minute films)
for BBC 1 with Ken Branagh starring as Wallander—the Swedish
detective, created by top Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell.
We have also secured a six part comedy series called The School
of Comedy for E4 and a new six part adult relationship/Cold
Feet style series for ITV. Other commissions are in the pipeline.
In our first year we achieved a turnover of £2.2 million.
Year 2 is predicted to be well over £20 million.
4. Would we have achieved this without Worldwide's
investment and support?
I very much doubt it. Worldwide's deal was simple—the
proposition was clear—the partnership works effectively
and without fuss. Worldwide is getting a brand new supply of TV
shows to feed their international markets and we are successfully
selling shows in both the UK and worldwide and building our business.
Who else could have provided this level of support and commitment?
No one that I can think of. I did have other offers when I was
setting up the company but none of them came from other UK indie
companies and most of the serious offers were from outside of
the UK. The UK based indies who are most vocal to Worldwide's
investments fear the competition from companies like Left Bank
in my view. The agenda from the indies that I spoke to was always
about them "acquiring me" from day one. They had no
interest in helping me to launch as an independent. So I do not
believe that the market in the UK would have provided the funds
for Left Bank to launch. I think BBC Worldwide have created something
original and something very important for our business. They—alone—were
prepared to back new start ups in the UK at that time.
5. Why is BBC Worldwide's investment in indie
production companies a good thing?
In our case their investment ensured that my
company stayed British owned and within the wider firmament of
the BBC. The first look deal does not help me to secure any commissions
with the BBC but being a part of the wider world of the BBC is
both helpful and is delivering real value to all areas of the
corporation.
6. Was it a risky investment?
I am obviously biased but I would say no—and
18 months into the life of the new company the figures speak for
themselves. I think Worldwide are very clever. They know what
they are doing and they are doing it very well. It is clear that
some of their opponents are jealous. Worldwide is an easy target
as people misunderstand where their money comes from and what
their commercial targets are. A strong, successful and independent
BBC Worldwide is a very good thing for the BBC and for the UK
media business. We should be celebrating their success and their
acumen and not constantly undermining it. I can't help feeling
that sheer jealousy lies at the root of some of the critics who
are popping up—that's typically British and very silly.
BBC Worldwide are growing their business by
being committed and being supportive to small but important and
growing UK talent based production companies. Thank the Lord for
that.
October 2008
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