Three of the subsidiary companies of Kirsty Bell’s family-owned media outfit Goldfinch have gone out of business.
Goldfinch confirmed this week that Bird Box Distribution Ltd, the company set up to assist with film sales and distribution strategy in the UK, has ceased trading.
UK streaming platform BirdBox.Film, launched in May 2020, has also been shuttered, “as it was no longer viable as a business venture for us,” according to a company spokesperson.
A third entity, Bird Box Film Development Ltd, an SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) company started in 2017, has closed and is due to be dissolved this week.
“The company [Bird Box Film Development Limited] had a number of consultants and contacts working on developing a variety of film, short film and TV concepts. None of the projects have been greenlit bar one short film project. The company is no longer viable, so the decision was taken to close it down some time ago,” the spokesperson explained.
According to documentation lodged at Companies House, Bird Box Distribution (BBD) left behind debts of £363,227. According to Goldfinch over £275,000 of this was a loan owed to one of the directors and also monies owed to Goldfinch itself.
The company is listed on the FDA (Film Distributors’ Association) website as having released two films theatrically: Martin Owen’s thriller Killers Anonymous starring Gary Oldman, which went out in August 2019, and feature documentary Ronnie’s, about Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, which hit UK cinemas in October 2020.
“BBD worked with a number of established entities to release the titles, in many cases we were managing a release around a pay-TV or SVoD deal we had secured in order to maximise revenues. However, going forward Goldfinch Entertainment will be working with external partners to more efficiently and effectively manage any releases,” the spokesperson explained.
However, Goldfinch’s talent management agency, The Koop, remains in existence with its website under construction.
Goldfinch chief operating officer Phil McKenzie explained to Screen that both BBD and Bird Box Film Development “were start-ups and as with many such enterprises they unfortunately, and mainly due to the pandemic, ceased to trade. I am sure you will find many companies in this predicament in the industry and more so going forward.”
McKenzie said that Goldfinch was not restructuring and that the group will remain active in the film industry. “We will make announcements on the futures of any of our businesses and any restructuring when we feel it is both relevant and appropriate – we continue to actively invest in the future of the UK and global film industry and operate across a number of lines of business,” he commented.
Projects that Goldfinch is currently involved in include Bell’s documentary Don’t Forget Me, announced at Cannes and about legendary rock star Eddie Cochran, and Lena Headey’s directorial debut The Trap, due to shoot in the northeast later this year.
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