Pinewood share value plummets as film productions move abroad

Pinewood Studios is facing a potentially devastating financial disaster, following reports production of an upcoming blockbuster may be pulled from the facility.

Pinewood Shepperton - the company which owns the studio made famous by the James Bond movies - claim big-budget films are delaying their visits to the UK amid fears over tax relief on projects costing more than $28.5 million (£15 million).

And according to a report on trade website ScreenDaily.coim, the $121 million (£64 million) superhero movie "Watchmen" may look elsewhere for studio space over concerns about the extortionate cost of shooting films in Britain.

Producer Lloyd Levin has added to the theory, saying, "The feeling is that there might be a less expensive way to do it outside the UK, given the environment right now."

However, Pinewood chiefs are hoping a new British tax code will rescue the studio from closure - but for now more and more film companies are shunning UK facilities.

It was recently claimed Warner Bros executives want to abandon filming the Harry Potter tales at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, and relocate abroad - in a move to benefit from better tax breaks overseas.

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.

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