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Mohammed Fayed Mulls Bid For Pinewood

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday April 21, 2011 @ 6:10am PDTTags: Crystal Amber, Michael Grade, Prometheus, Ridley Scott

Mohammed Fayed, the controversial ex-owner of Harrods department store in London, has emerged as a surprise contender to buy Britain’s premier movie studio Pinewood Shepperton, best known as the production base for the James Bond franchise. Fayed  says that he is considering making an all-cash offer for the studio group. He sold Harrods last year for £1.5 billion ($2.5 billion). “It’s very early stages,” Fayed’s spokesman tells me. According to reports, Fayed thinks the James Bond studio needs investment to return it to its glory days. Ridley Scott is currently shooting Prometheus there until mid-July, and sets are being built for Dark Shadows starting May. Fayed’s bid would throw a spanner in the works for lead Pinewood shareholder Peel Holdings, which has just made a bid worth £88 million for the studio. Peel would have to increase its offer if it is to prevail over Fayed, say analysts. The market certainly likes what it’s hearing: Pinewood Shepperton’s shares were up 11% this morning to 224p per share. This is not the first time Fayed has gotten involved in the movie business. Back in the early 80s, he was an early investor in Chariots of Fire. His son, Dodi, also spent time in Los Angeles as a producer.

Peel Holdings is a property investor, and it wants to get Pinewood Shepperton’s sprawling 150-acre grounds and backlot working harder. Around 300 indie film companies are currently based at the 3 sites of Pinewood, Shepperton and Teddington. Peel also owns the BBC’s new flagship studio in Salford, Manchester. Peel stands behind current Pinewood management, led by ex-ITV chairman Michael Grade. Fayed’s rep wouldn’t say whether the ex-Harrods boss would also want to keep Grade and his team. Pinewood increased revenue 8% to £42.4 million in its year-end profits for 2010, while pre-tax profit jumped by 31% to £5.8 million. Operating profit increased by 20% to £9.1 million – but that’s still one-quarter below the level in 2004, when Pinewood floated on the London Stock Exchange. Dissident shareholder Crystal Amber, which last year called for Grade’s resignation, believes that Pinewood is under-performing and that its property portfolio is not being exploited properly. Local officials recently turned down Pinewood’s application to build up to 1,400 new homes beside the studio. The idea was to build new homes on movie back-lots mimicking the streets of Paris or Venetian canals. Pinewood is fighting the decision.

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Julian Fellowes Becomes A Tory Lord

By TIM ADLER in London | Friday November 19, 2010 @ 9:48am PSTTags: Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, Michael Grade

Talk about life imitating art. Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator of ITV snob drama Downton Abbey, which PBS will show in January, has been made a Tory peer. Fellowes, who’s complained that the problem with success is that it’s … Read More »

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Michael Grade Buying 4 Theatres From Andrew Lloyd-Webber For $75M

By TIM ADLER in London | Monday September 6, 2010 @ 8:18am PDTTags: Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Michael Grade

Stage Entertainment, the London-based theatre chain, was also bidding but has now dropped out, I’m told. Grade has teamed up with theatrical agent Michael Linnit and private investors to acquire the New London, Her Majesty’s, Cambridge and Palace theatres. Of … Read More »

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Pinewood Profits Fall 12% To $4.5M

By TIM ADLER in London | Wednesday August 25, 2010 @ 1:17am PDTTags: Crystal Amber Pinewood Shepperton Film Studios, Hugo Cabret, John Carter of Mars, Martin Scorsese Hugo Cabret, Michael Grade, Pinewood Finance, Pinewood Shepperton Film Studios, Pinewood Studios

First half operating profits after exceptional items have also fallen 3% to £3.2 million. Total revenue fell 6.4% in the first 6 months to £19 million. Film production revenue fell by 8.5% to £10.8 million, while TV shooting income fell … Read More »

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So, What Will Take The Place Of UKFC?

By TIM ADLER in London | Tuesday August 24, 2010 @ 5:11am PDTTags: Jeremy Hunt, Michael Grade, UK Film Council, UK Film Council Closing, UK Film Funding, UKFC John Woodward, UKFC Lottery Funding

James Lee, former chairman of Scottish film agency Scottish Screen, has written to UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt proposing all £15 million of lottery funding be injected into a single distribution label. BBC Films and Film4 would be obliged to … Read More »

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Pinewood Debates Management Buyout

By TIM ADLER in London | Monday August 23, 2010 @ 8:05am PDTTags: Crystal Amber, Michael Grade, Michael Grade Pinewood Shepperton, Pinewood Finance, Pinewood Shepperton Finance, Pinewood Studios, UK Film Producers

The publicly-quoted studio facility faces a renewed attack by shareholder Crystal Amber on Wednesday, when it announces its half-year results. Pinewood is expected to announce operating profits have fallen from last year’s £3.3 million ($5 million). Crystal Amber thinks that … Read More »

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Michael Grade Shrugs Off Call For Him To Quit As Pinewood Shepperton Boss

By TIM ADLER in London | Tuesday June 29, 2010 @ 7:19am PDTTags: Crystal Amber Pinewood Shepperton Film Studios, Finance, Foreign, Michael Grade, Michael Grade Pinewood Shepperton, Pinewood Shepperton Film Studios, Pinewood Shepperton Finance

Michael_GradeThe former ITV chairman has survived a shareholder rebellion at this morning’s annual general meeting of the company that owns Pinewood and Shepperton film studios.

Crystal Amber, an activist investment fund with 18% of the shares in Pinewood Shepperton has attacked Grade’s … Read More »

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