UK FILM STUDIOS
studio space:
The final frontier
Pippa Considine reports on the UK’s still growing film and HETV studios market and finds a sector where confidence is high, but where concerns over skills gaps are high too
The business of planning, building and operating studio space for film and High-End TV in the UK has accelerated in the last five years, with pulses racing as inward investment grows and projections for demand point upwards. As we head through 2023, the boom in content
spend appears to be slowing, there’s urgent activity to train much-needed crew, and concerns that there may be an over-supply of studio space down the line. But optimism remains the watchword. In February, the BFI published statistics for 2022,
showing another record annual film and High-End TV spend in the UK. Film production was up almost 30% on 2021, at £1.97bn. While HETV production – including films made for TV - came to £4.29bn. The vast majority of this was inward investment. Put another way, 220 features began production
in the UK in 2022 and 195 HETV productions. In June last year, ScreenSkills published a report
estimating film and HETV production would rise to over £7bn by 2025, causing a corresponding need for between 15,000 and 20,000 additional crew. The ScreenSkills report also estimated that just
under 2.7m sq ft of new stage space was due to come online by 2025. However, in January, Ampere Analysis predicted
a slowing of worldwide content spend, to increase by two per cent in 2023. Budgets have been hit by
PRODUCTION
inflation, while rising interest rates and impending UK business rate changes are also set to hit UK studios hard.
DEMANDING TIMES That said, the UK remains a global hotspot, with experienced crew and good locations. Production spend in the UK has risen by over 60% since 2017. Film tax credits and 10 years of UK HETV tax credits, have underpinned the UK’s allure, as have favourable exchange rates. “As a result of the demand curve, driven by film,
but largely driven by high-end television - produced by the studios and the streamers - we have had this incredible growth which, despite COVID, despite everything else that’s been going on in the economy, hasn’t really slowed,” says Adrian Wootton CEO at the British Film Commission. Big movies are typically looking for studios with
more than 100,000 sq ft, while successful HETV shows need semi-permanent space. The Crown began shooting at Elstree in 2016 and when it finishes its last season this Summer, will have been in situ for eight years. “You have got a lot of stuff that’s already bedded in in the UK and more stuff coming down the pipeline,” says Wootton. Big budget productions are still piling onto slates.
Amazon recently announced that it will invest US $1bn in 12 to 15 movies a year for cinema release. HETV isn’t letting up. Multi-season hits such as Netflix shows Bridgerton and The Sandman and Apple TV+ favourites Ted Lasso and Slow Horses have found a base in the UK. Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, reported to have a budget of over US$50m per episode, has moved production from New Zealand to the UK for season 2. Short term, there seems to have been a lull at the
end of 2022. In part this may be down to unfinished BECTU Pact negotiations on terms and conditions between producers and workers. An agreement between them was signed in December. “The autumn, winter was definitely quieter,” says Wootton, “but the New Year started with a bang.” Long term, millions more square foot of additional
studio space is in the pipeline. As well as the traditional UK studios adding space, international studios operators, local councils and property companies are creating buildings and blueprints across the UK. At Pinewood, there are plans to add 21 new
stages which would raise the total to 51 and make it the biggest studio complex in the world. The expansion is likely to complete in 2026/27. “We do have customers lined up,” confirms Andrew Smith, Pinewood’s Director of Corporate Affairs. Disney has a long-term deal for space at
Pinewood. Shepperton has similar occupancy deals: a 10-year lease on nine sound stages with Amazon
Spring 2023
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