Calculus Capital, the investment firm that has backed companies including Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment, has picked up the £60m film & TV production finance business of Great Point Media (GPM), which went into administration in March.
GPM subsidiary Illium previously provided production finance for shows including the BBC’s Small Axe, ITV’s Manhunt and Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War. It is currently backing around 20 upcoming high-end scripted and documentary projects.
Illium was technically owned by Great Point Investments (GPI), itself a wholly owned subsidiary of GPM, which was not placed into administration.
But its future was thrown into doubt following the ultimate parent company’s administration, which came just weeks after the death of co-founder Jim Reeve.
Administrator Grant Thornton took control of GPM in late March, since when it has cut jobs and begun to unwind investments in a bid to recoup losses for investors.
There had been fears that GPM’s demise would cause considerable long-term damage to future investments in the TV & film sector, but the Calculus deal averts that scenario.
Broadcast understands that one new loan for a UK project has already been agreed by the business and that it has taken on a handful of former GPM employees.
Financial details of the deal have not been revealed.
Calculus chief executive John Glencross said that the majority of Illium’s loans to production companies are performing well, but that there is a “material” impairment on a handful of others that are “significantly ahead of single digit [percentage]”.
He added that Calculus is continuing to investigate “a couple of loans” in default and will “rigorously pursue” outstanding payments from production companies.
Glencross said Calculus will maintain Illium as a trading company and that it remains on the lookout for production finance opportunities.
“It will take a while to re-establish trust [with investors] because there is no doubt that shareholders have been bruised, but there is the basis of a good business here.
“We are bullish about the market and that is underlined by the loan offer we had after only three days of managing the [Illium] business. Clearly, there is demand from the production sector for a lender who can act as a competitor to the banks.”
The deal provides a much-needed fillip to the UK production sector at a time when third-party investment is becoming increasingly important as commissioners scale back spending.
Illium’s business model was to provide investment for shows by securing financing against commissioning agreements, pre-sales and tax credits. Its titles included dramas such as Harlots and Line Of Duty.
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