Great Point, the UK’s leading independent media and investment firm, has today announced it has invested in Seven Seas Films – an independent TV production company whose team has a track record of producing high-quality scripted drama and comedy.
Great Point’s backing will combine financial investment with its media industry expertise and contacts to help Seven Seas take advantage of the buoyant market for high-end scripted series and build a valuable slate of IP and a production hub for returning series and new formats.
The investment is the fourth this year from Great Point’s new EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) Fund ‘Great Point Ventures’ and sends a welcome sign to other growing media businesses starved of funding from traditional sources. It also underlines the fact that EIS investment in the media sector is thriving following HMRC’s changes in 2018 after the Patient Capital Review.
Speaking from the Cannes Film Festival, Jim Reeve, Great Point’s Co-Founder said: “Content is king in the TV business and the Seven Seas team has an impressive reputation for crafting great stories that capture the attention of audiences and are thus in demand from broadcasters and distributors looking for the next hit show.”
Seven Seas Films was founded in 2016 by Dan Sefton and Simon Lupton with a focus on high-quality scripted drama and comedy. Dan Sefton is a former medical doctor and one of the UK’s leading TV writer’s and showrunners with a track record for quality returning hit shows such as “Good Karma Hospital” (ITV), and “Trust Me” (BBC1) and the upcoming “Mallorca Files” (BBC1/ZDF). Simon is a highly respected producer and former BBC and UKTV Commissioning Editor (“The Trip”, BAFTA winning “Harry & Paul”, “Getting On” & “Red Dwarf”).
Commenting on the investment Dan Sefton said: “Simon and I are delighted to be working with Great Point who have a real commitment to exciting and innovative projects. This is a time of great change in the TV and film world and this partnership gives us a great chance to take advantage of these new opportunities and develop fresh and exciting voices and ideas for the screen”
The deal was brokered by DoveTale Media, who will also be providing an Executive Producer Consultancy service in respect of Seven Seas Films international business.
The Great Point Ventures EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) Fund, which is currently raising capital and looking to close its next tranche in July 2019, will continue to invest in a diversified portfolio of growth businesses operating in the UK media and creative industries which contribute £91.8bn to the economy (DMCS 2016) and has grown at a faster rate than the economy as a whole.
Inward investment into the UK’s film and television production industry reached a record high of £1.69 billion in 2017 (BFI 2018).