New £15m fund targets growing global series demand

A new £15 million (US$20 million) fund that will be used in part for UK producers to create new TV series has been launched.

Atlantic Screen Media is seeking to raise the £15 million that can be accessed in order to produce TV series, music scores and comic books.

Atlantic claims demand for TV production has risen 5% globally in the past five years, and noted SVOD services such as Netflix, which are spending billions on original shows, means there are “great new opportunities to empower new models that can create and distribute new content”.

To access the fund, companies must be EIS-qualifying businesses from the media and entertainment industries.

EIS is a tax relief mechanism in the UK that has helped numerous TV shows into production.

Atlantic said in its proposal: “Demand for content in film and television worldwide is growing exponentially as consumers move to watching TV and film on their mobile devices in increasing numbers. Streaming video devices and smartphones are fast becoming the channel of choice for both old and new generations of customers.

“This, added to the range of delivery mediums such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and all the iPlayer hubs, is creating a huge demand for content with the market due to double in size between now and 2022 [according to PWC Media and Entertainment review 2017]. The Atlantic Screen Media Fund is seeking investors to create media IP, and to develop content to meet this demand.”

“We designed this fund to give investor’s access to the intellectual property that exists in exciting content streamed and broadcast in a new era for our industry,” said Simon Fawcett, CEO of Atlantic, whose board has extensive experiencing accessing EIS tax relief.

“Our teams’ experience of these changes over many years means that we can guide investors into the most profitable and reliable investment opportunities and to help them to focus on creating portfolios which have asset backing and solid income streams, whilst also benefiting from favourable tax reliefs which are supported by the Government.”

Earlier this year, Barclays bank launched a £100 million fund aimed at supply producer with the funds to create shows for the likes of Netflix and Amazon.