Merged British studios hope to compete with Hollywood

By Katharine MacColl

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THE two biggest film and TV studios in Europe are starring in their own blockbuster as Pinewood and Shepperton merge in an effort to attract more Hollywood movie moguls.

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��Press Association

Pinewood Studios

Shepperton, the Middlesex-based studio behind hits such as Notting Hill, Blade Runner and Shakespeare in Love, has been sold to Pinewood for �35million to create a new 'superstudio'.

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Backers of the new business, valued at �100million, hope it�will create a global rival to Hollywood. It is being part financed by the venture capitalist 3i and led by the former Channel 4 chief executive Michael Grade, who took over as head of Pinewood's management team in February.

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Grade says the studios will maintain separate identities, but the merger will mean greater flexibility.

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The UK's movie-making centres have suffered in recent years as Hollywood producers found cheaper locations in Europe, Canada and Australia. Mission: Impossible 2, starring Tom Cruise, was shot in Australia, for example.

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Shepperton, owned for the past five years by the Hannibal director Ridley Scott and his brother Tony, alongside the buy-out specialist Candover, has hosted the world's highest-paid actress Julia Roberts, who filmed Notting Hill there, as well as Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise and Gwyneth Paltrow. Pinewood is best known for its James Bond films.

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Grade has publicly stated that neither Pinewood nor Shepperton could accommodate the new Harry Potter film so the movie was lost to another studio.

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The merged studio's�supporters hope it will improve Britain's ability to compete for movie business at a time when countries such as Canada and Spain are seeking to win more work from Hollywood.

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No jobs are expected to be lost at either studio. Shepperton has a staff of around 120, while Pinewood has around 140 people on the payroll. Both have reputations for world class productions and are home to more than 150 businesses servicing the film, television and advertising markets.