Welcome news for the film industry this week as Pinewood Shepperton revealed that it will be providing facilities and co-investment to support low-budget British movies.

The company will target films with production budgets of around £2m each and will invest equity up to 20% per film. In addition to generating return from this investment, Pinewood says it will also benefit from these films using latent studio capacity and ancillary services at its sites.

Pinewood expects to invest in four productions annually and says the move is “consistent with the Government’;s stated aim to create a sustainable long term British film industry.”

Pinewood Shepperton CEO Ivan Dunleavy continued: “British film has enjoyed extraordinary success recently, and in its 75th anniversary year, I am delighted that Pinewood is returning, on a small scale, to its heritage in British film production. Although our financial commitment to each film will be relatively small, we can offer British films access to world class facilities and production expertise at (our) Studios which would normally be beyond their budget.”

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been busy talking up the role that private companies can play in rebuilding the domestic film industry. He added: “As the recent success of The King’;s Speech demonstrates, smaller British films have the potential to become smash hits globally and any support the industry can offer producers, we welcome. This investment is a sign of confidence in the Government’;s film policy. Pinewood has a long heritage in film making excellence and, with this announcement, demonstrates that it continues to sit at the heart of the British film.”