Actor Colin Firth’s Raindog Films, the producer of movies including Official Secrets and Eye in the Sky, is to break into TV after winning the support of a fund established to help British independent producers exploit the boom in demand for content in the Netflix-era.
Firth, who cofounded Raindog with former Sony Music UK chief Ged Doherty eight years ago, has taken on the investment from the UK Creative Content Fund.
The £20m fund was set up last year after the British Film Institute (BFI) identified the need to help the UK’s 300 independent TV and film production companies grow to cater for the booming demand for content from deep-pocketed players such as Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video.
“The BFI works tirelessly to champion and support independent film and the wider UK screen industries,” said Firth, known for films including The King’s Speech and more recently Sam Mendes’s 1917.
“It creates opportunities to train and develop new talent, to discover new voices and to ensure the highest ethical standards. We are delighted to receive the investment.”
Raindog is using the investment to expand beyond its roots in film into making TV drama, music content and documentaries. Last year, a record £3.6bn was spent by film studios, TV companies and streaming services in the UK, making 188 films and 123 high-end TV programmes, such as The Crown and His Dark Materials.
“We value our independence more than anything and this investment will allow us the freedom to develop little-known extraordinary stories and to help them find a global audience with the right partners,” said Doherty.
The investment allows producers to work on two or three projects at once, rather than one at a time, which is typically all small companies can manage – which in turn increases chances of obtaining commissions from TV companies and streaming services.
It is the second investment made by the fund, which is run by Calculus Capital and advisers Stargrove Pictures independently of the BFI, after taking a stake in former Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham’s Wonderhood Studios last year.
“Raindog has already established itself as a leading producer of important films,” said John Glencross, chief executive at Calculus Capital.
“They have impeccable connections, which means they can attract the best actors, writers and directors, which is fundamental to the success of the projects they are working on and ultimately to the business.”
The fund benefits from the government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme, which encourages tax breaks of up to 30% to encourage investment in higher-risk companies.