Banijay UK’s Patrick Holland Reveals “Substantial” Portion of $63M Growth Fund Has Been Spent As He Talks James Norton Deal & Unscripted Pivot
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Over the past six months, Banijay UK boss Patrick Holland has set about overseeing the spend of a “substantial” amount of the super-indie’s £50M ($63.6M) Growth Fund, striking deals with the likes of James Norton, Kitty Kaletsky, Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald and experienced execs Tommy Bulfin, Kim Varvell and Chris Sussman, amongst others.
At a time of macroeconomic strife and ad slumps, the former BBC Two chief has been on something of a charm offensive to prove that the SAS Rogue Heroes, Masterchef and Big Brother maker can grow in line with the Fund’s three pillars: investing in start-up labels, striking flexible talent deals and recruiting for existing labels.
And Holland isn’t done yet, with the Fund having not quite run dry and there still being plenty of potential to extend it or invest in companies using non-Fund money, such as last year’s majority stake in Chloe producer Mam Tor.
Deadline can reveal that Banijay UK is on the verge of unveiling another scripted deal and, in the unscripted space, a development deal with a well-known entertainment talent.
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