The Former Merton Studios have been bought. The new owners bring in Unitbase.co.uk

Oct. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- A newly formed studio management company led by Piers Read and backed by investor Panther Securities PLC, the listed company on London’s Stock Exchange has purchased Merton Studios from FremantleMedia with the intention of reinventing it into the UK’s elite studio. The deal was concluded earlier this week following months of negotiations between the consortium and Fremantle Media, with a £5m deal rumoured to have secured the freehold & all of its contents. Panther Securities PLC is owned by majority shareholder and Chairman Andrew Perloff, who is well known in the financial sector.

The studio has been the home of ‘The Bill’, produced by Talkback Thames, since 1983. Since ITV decommissioned the production in May this year, operations at the 220,000 square foot studio have gradually been closed down. This is the first time the studio complex can be commercially exploited – until now The Bill being shot onsite has drastically restricted availability to independent Producers to utilise the outstanding facilities on site. This is no longer the case, with the studio now immediately available for hire. This includes two sound stages, that can be utilised as either set build or television entertainment shows. The studio is currently installing state of the art, 3D galleries to provide the industry with a cutting edge facility that can also broadcast live content. The studio gallery will also cater to HD & SD productions.

In addition it has over 50 purpose built sets including some of the hardest to find locations. These include a Prison Police Station, Court Room, Pub, Hospital and exterior street sets, which makes the studio totally unique compared to any other in the UK. There is also an industrial kitchen on site and over 100 production offices available for hire that the studio also plans to undertake leases at with media orientated companies. Also included within the purchase price is HD shooting kit & HD post production facilities as well as over 45,000 costume pieces. It is expected that the studio will attract both the event and photographic industries too.

The new studio management company not yet named and currently in the process of being branded, will be run by Managing Director Piers Read & fellow Director John Brennan. Both men bring highly relevant experience to benefit the studios operation. Piers Read is a former location manager who owns Unitbase.co.uk, one of the industry’s leading location agencies, that since 2003 has successfully ran several production bases in London as alternatives to conventional studio based productions. Unitbase’s clients include Hackney Empire, Westfield London, British Waterways, National Car Parks and Land Securities PLC for the purposes of commercial filming.

Piers has also enjoyed a successful freelance career working as a Line Producer at some of the leading independent production companies, whose credits include Peep Show and The Inbetweeners, working most recently with So Television.

John has been Managing Director of leading hire company Procam Television since 1998 and is a major shareholder. Since its formation in 1991, Procam Television has become one of the leading film & television hire facilities in the UK, working with most major broadcasters, production companies and corporate blue-chip clients both in this country and worldwide. The company moved to a new purpose-built 12,000 sq. ft. facility in London’s Battersea in April 2009 and also has a UK associate company in Manchester. John was instrumental in opening further associated companies in Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. John will drive the technical expertise behind the permanent High Definition 3D TV studio gallery set ups in Stages 1 & 2.

In a statement today Piers Read said “Our mission is to unlock the outstanding commercial potential of the studio, and deliver a world class service to the independent production sector and in doing so create a genuine media hub for industry people to enjoy working within a friendly, professional environment with an array of superb facilities on tap."


“We are thrilled we can offer the industry this truly unique facility. Everyone is welcome to come to the studio and tell us how we can make it work best for them. We can cater to all aspects of production from pre production, to the shoot and through to post production – everything is here and ready to be used. We are excited about to announce certain things over the coming weeks that we know will make the studio even better”

The studio is already undertaking bookings, being handled by Unitbase.co.uk on 020 7239 8906 or info@unitbase.co.uk