Pinewood studios gets £87.8m bid

8 April 2011 Last updated at 19:17 GMT Pinewood studios, where many Bond films were made, celebrated its 75th anniversary last year Pinewood Shepperton has received an £87.8m takeover bid from a company run by billionaire investor John Whittaker.

Peel Holdings, which recently sold the Trafford Centre to Capital Shopping Centres for £1.6bn, has offered 190p per share for the business.

Pinewood, home to the Harry Potter and James Bond films, revealed the move early Friday evening after shares in the company soared.

Peel has already built a 29.78% stake in Pinewood.

Shares in Pinewood rocketed 14% to 181p on Friday as investors heard rumours that a bidder might be moving in.

During 2010, the 75-year-old business filmed the fourth instalment of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, starring Johnny Depp, the final Harry Potter film, and an adaptation of Jane Eyre.

Pinewood has studios in Pinewood in Buckinghamshire, and Shepperton and Teddington in Middlesex.

Last month Pinewood unveiled a 31% rise in pre-tax profits to £5.8m, and said it was looking to the future with "confidence" despite a poor economic climate.

The firm also unveiled an investment plan for small-budget British films.

The company will target films with production budgets of about £2m each and will invest equity up to 20% per film.

Peel invests in infrastructure, transport and real estate in the UK and has nearly £6bn of assets.

Its projects include the MediaCityUK development at Salford Quays, which will be home to several BBC departments.

In a short stock exchange statement Pinewood confirmed it had received a bid approach from Peel. "A further announcement will be made in due course," Pinewood said.

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Pinewood to open in Latin America

23 February 2011 Last updated at 19:55 GMT The site will include an eight acre water effects facility with 75 sq water tank Pinewood Shepperton is opening film studios in the Dominican Republic to serve Latin America, it has announced.

The company, best known for its association with the James Bond films, will build a 35-acre site comprising 5,000 sq m of sound stage space and 15,000 sq m of production facilities.

It will also include an eight-acre water effects facility with a 75 sq m exterior water tank.

Construction will begin immediately and is expected to open early next year.

The water tank will also feature natural ocean horizons, blue screen capabilities and a fully equipped diving and marine department, making it the only tank of its type and size in the region.

Dominican politicians, including First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez and Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso attended the groundbreaking ceremony, which was led by President Leonel Fernandez.

"This represents further progress in Pinewood's strategy to leverage the strength of our brand internationally and specifically to the growing Latino film and television market," Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Shepperton said.

Pinewood's plans to expand further in the UK and build a 100-acre site in Buckinghamshire were dealt a blow in 2009 after its application was rejected by the local council.

The £200m project would have seen the streets of New York, Paris and Venice recreated, as well as up to 1,500 new homes built.

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