With streaming services gobbling up ever-more of the consumer pound and the UK government throwing its weight behind the film industry, the studio sector is ready for a revolution. A dramatic shortage of suitable space is creating an opportunity for investors and developers to create state-of-the-art facilities to fill the gap and get a foothold in the nascent area. But doing so will require specialist knowledge and plenty of capital.
This React News webinar will cover:
– The scale of the shortage of space and where demand is coming from
– What type of product occupiers want
– The emerging movers and shakers
– How the business plans behind studio developments stack up
Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate Europe at Blackstone
James Seppala is the Head of Real Estate Europe, based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Seppala has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments across Europe, including Logicor, OfficeFirst, Sponda, and Mileway.
Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Seppala was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co, where he spent 10 years focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and the United States on behalf of Goldman Sachs’s real estate private equity group.
Mr. Seppala graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2001. Mr. Seppala currently serves as Chairman of Sponda, is on the board of The Office Group and Kereby, and chairs the European Advisory Board of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School.
Chairman & CEO at Hudson Pacific Properties
Victor J. Coleman serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Hudson Pacific Properties, and was the founder and Managing Partner of Hudson Pacific’s predecessor, Hudson Capital. Coleman previously co-founded and led Arden Realty as its President and Chief Operating Officer and as a Director. Coleman serves on the boards of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, Young Presidents’ Organization Gold Los Angeles, Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, as well as its philanthropic initiative, ChampionLA. Coleman previously served on the boards of several public companies, including Douglas Emmett, and he currently serves as a trustee on the board of Kite Realty. Coleman has been honored with the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award from the Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council, the Real Star of Hollywood Award from the Friends of the Hollywood Central Park, and was recognized as a Treasure of Los Angeles by Central City Association. He is an investor in the NHL team, Vegas Golden Knights.
Founder & CEO of Stage Fifty
James Enright is the founder and CEO of Stage Fifty, a company that builds production-ready, professional sound stages and develops and operates film studios and creative tech hubs.
With over 20 years’ film and television production experience, he applies fresh thinking and embraces innovation and new technology to continuously improve studio environments.
James and the team at Stage Fifty provide the very best creative and technical facilities and services to major film and television productions across the UK and Europe.
Chief Executive at British Film Commission
Adrian Wootton OBE is Chief Executive of the British Film Commission and Film London. Adrian is a Programme Advisor to the BFI London Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Noir in Fest, Milan, and Founding Director of Shots in the Dark Festival, Nottingham. In 2012 Adrian received an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts and was appointed Visiting Professor of Film & Media at Norwich University of the Arts. In 2014 Adrian received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for Services to Film . Most recently, Adrian has led the BFC’s work to develop the COVID-19 Production guidance for Film and High-end TV drama, as part of the BFI’s wider COVID-19 Screen Sector Recovery Task Force.
Head of Production UK at British Film Commission
Samantha worked in theatre stage management and in film and television production, post production and locations before joining the British Film Commission (BFC) in 2004. Samantha worked closely with Government and industry in developing the UK’s Creative Sector Tax Reliefs and was seconded to run the Certification Unit at the UK Film Council overseeing British qualification for the Film Tax Relief. As Head of Production UK, Samantha leads the UK team, providing tailored production support, guidance and troubleshooting to major international film and television projects from development through to delivery. She additionally oversees the BFC’s work supporting and promoting the UK film and television infrastructure globally and is responsible for liaising between the industry and Government to secure and maintain production-friendly policies. She was instrumental in the creation of the BFC’s Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production guidance which was launched in June 2020. Samantha has assisted on many high profile projects for international film and television clients including A+E, Amazon, Amblin, AMC, Apple TV+, Disney, HBO, Lionsgate, Lucasfilm, Marvel, MRC, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Starz, Twentieth Century Studios, Universal and Warner Media. Samantha was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List 2019 for services to the film and TV industry.
General Manager & Head of Studios at Knight Frank
Paul is General Manager and Head of Studios at the iconic 3 Mills Studios in East London and advises on the UK Studio Sector for Knight Frank.
An experienced Media & Entertainment Industry leader, he is currently consulting on a range of exciting projects for Knight Frank across the UK and Ireland’s burgeoning Film and TV Studio Sector, providing advice on identifying, developing and operating new and existing studio facilities.
He has over 30 years’ experience in the media, entertainment and telecoms industries, including with 20th Century Fox, Screen NSW, Telstra, and Hill & Knowlton (part of WPP) and has worked in Australia, China and the UK.
On moving to the UK in 2015, he brought this experience to Knight Frank’s Property Asset Management team, focusing on Film and Television Studio Management and Advisory.