UK Studio Shinfield Secures $340M Financing

Shinfield Studios has secured £250M ($340M) in financing. The Brit studio, which has filmed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and The Acolyte, completed construction last year in the south of England. Owner Shadowbox has secured the financing for Shinfield via Apollo-managed funds and the huge sit is now fully operational. It is one of a number of UK studios that has become home to big American projects. “We are tremendously proud of what we’ve accomplished since fully opening Shinfield Studios last year,” said Peter Rumbold, CEO of Shadowbox Studios. “Shadowbox’s business model is predicated on providing modern, high-quality film infrastructure, and today’s announcement both marks a major milestone for Shinfield and further validates the importance of purpose-built facilities within the global production landscape.” Shadowbox also runs a nine-stage, 850,000-square-foot campus in Atlanta, Georgia and is developing a 10-stage, 500,000-square-foot studio on Australia’s Gold Coast.

See-Saw Films Options Emma Forrest’s ‘Father Figure’

See-Saw Films has optioned Father Figure, the upcoming novel from Emma Forrest. The book will be made by See-Saw label fanboy, which is run by Heartstopper EP Patrick Walters, and follows Gail, a troubled scholarship student at the exclusive girls’ school Saint Saviours. Impulsive, bored, and yearning for connection, she’s at that dangerous age when you want to be picked up by men and driven home by your mother. Father Figure is the latest in a series of literary options for See-Saw, which also recently acquired the rights to Shifters by Benedict Lombe, and Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal, alongside a first look deal with writer Ben Vanstone. Fanboy recently made Sweetpea for Sky, the Ella Purnell-series that has been recommissioned. “Father Figure is an incredible novel and we’re so excited to be adapting it for television,” said Walters. “Emma is a singular talent I’ve long admired since the seminal Your Voice In My Head.”

ACF Opens New York Office

ACF Investment Bank is opening in New York. Ex-Lazard banker Jason Rejebian will run the East Coast offering from July 1. He will focus on deals in the upper mid-market for the firm that has advised on the likes of The Lord of the Rings to Embracer Group and Charlie Brooker’s outfit to Netflix. Rejebian advised on both when he previously worked for ACF before leaving to Lazard. Elsewhere, ACF has promoted Milos Perovic to director. “In this rapidly evolving environment, companies must pivot, change, or extend their service offering,” said ACF CEO Thomas Dey. “Bringing Jason back to ACF from Lazard to provide a New York presence, launching ACF Growth and promoting Milos to Director demonstrates our commitment to scaling in line with the needs of the industry.”