Pinewood plans second overseas studio in Malaysia

Pinewood Shepperton, home to the James Bond and Harry Potter films, is to develop its second overseas film and television studios in a joint venture with the Malaysian government, reports the FT.

The deal is with Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the country’s state-owned investment arm. Pinewood is providing operational and marketing input as well as technical advice and rights to use its global brand.

The facility will initially target productions from Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific before expanding to international productions.

The studio will be built on an 80-acre site in the south of Malaysia and will cost about $120m. About 3,000 jobs will be created and it is expected to open in 2013.

Analysts do not envisage Pinewood having to make any capital contribution to the physical asset or have any ownership.

A research note from broker Investec, said: “PWS should get brand/licence fees for use of its name ‘Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios’, plus for sales/marketing services.” The company expects to start making income from 2011.

Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Shepperton, pointed to Malaysia’s central location and its English-speaking and skilled workforce.

“This represents important progress in the company’s strategy to build a meaningful new revenue stream, exploiting our expertise and brand internationally.

“Following our deal for Pinewood Toronto and now Pinewood Malaysia, we are exploring further opportunities in this new and growing market.” Trading for 2009 was in line with expectations, the company also said.

The studios announced plans for Project Pinewood in June, a £200m UK development for permanent film lots designed to compete with filming facilities in the US.

The 100-acre development in Buckinghamshire, that could feature a permanent Venetian canal, Parisian square and brownstone New York apartments, has had initial planning permission rejected by the local council.

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