Despite the looming specter of Brexit, the UK production business continues to drive strong numbers — even if preliminary statistics released by the BFI today do not all constitute new records. Film and high-end TV production spend combined exceeded £3.1B ($4B) in 2018. Television saw the bigger increases, repping…

High-end TV productions are spending a record amount in the UK, according to new figures released by the BFI. In the first half of 2018, a hefty 48 high-end programs — these are tax incentive-qualifying shows with budgets of £1M+ per episode — started principal photography with a local spend of £486M ($640M), the…

The strength of the UK’s production sector — from studio facilities to skilled crews and the film and TV tax credits available — drove overall spend on film to a record £1.6B ($2B) in 2016. Of that, £1.35B ($1.7B) came in the form of inward investment, an 18% increase on 2015. In the TV sector, foreign productions…

The Pinewood Group, which includes the iconic Pinewood Studios in England’s South Buckinghamshire, as well as Shepperton Studios and several offshore hubs, has agreed to be bought by Aermont Capital, through its PW III private equity fund and Bidco, a newly-incorporated company indirectly owned by PW III. The £323.3M…

EXCLUSIVE: Production and finance operation Extraordinary Studios has embarked on plans for a state-of-the-art studio facility it says will be the UK's fourth largest after Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree, and will sit on the nation's biggest backlot. The project is being set up near Christchurch in Bournemouth on…

Looking to capitalize on the global demand for high-end drama coming out of the UK, which also benefits from a lucrative tax break, Pinewood Studios Group has set a joint venture with StoryFirst PST Limited to form Pinewood Television. The new company will create, develop and finance high quality drama series for the…

On the heels of news that Pinewood Studios has received a greenlight for its expansion plans, Warner Bros Studios Leavesden is also getting ready to grow, adding three new stages and increasing office space. The studios, also known as the home of Harry Potter, were opened in 2012 after Warner invested more than £100M…

It’s taken a fair few years, but Pinewood Studios now finally has the greenlight to grow. That’s welcome news at a time when the UK is bursting with film and TV series jockeying for stage space and tax breaks. The UK’s Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government today offered his positive decision on the Pi…

X Files veteran Frank Spotnitz moved to London for Cinemax/BBC series Hunted a few years back, and in 2013 launched London-based Big Light Productions. Now, he’s digging even further into the UK TV scene. Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer (Houdini) have created crime series Freud: The Secret Casebook. NBC Universal-owned Dow…

Britain’s Channel 4 is embellishing its strategy with a new purview to invest in international drama co-productions. The net, which already invests in original British drama as well as boundary-pushing factual entertainment, is joining the likes of ITV, the BBC and Sky in its bid to spread its wings. To spearhead the…

In this week's podcast, Deadline International Editor Nancy Tartaglione and host David Bloom look at a big Chinese tour by star Johnny Depp ahead of Wally Pfister's directorial debut on April 18 with Transcendence. They stay in China to discuss Discovery's consulting and content deal with a new pay-TV channel from…

As expected, the British government has confirmed changes to its film tax incentives that were originally outlined in December. The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, presented the 2014 budget to Parliament this afternoon and noted that the European Commission has approved the expansion of the tax break…