Channel 4 may take a stake in up-and-coming independent production companies to help establish them.
Talking to Broadcast, Channel 4 chief executive, David Abraham explained that the new Growth Fund could help “what is essentially a one-man-band grow to something with some real infrastructure.”
He added that due to a lack of available finance from banks, the channel would step in by helping a number of indies, which currently turnover around £2m/year and grow them into businesses with a £5m turnover.
Details of the scheme are yet to be officially announced, so it’s not yet known how big the Growth Fund is going to be. Although Channel 4 did confirm they would only take minority stakes and these would be less than £1m per producer.
Abraham also stated that they would work at “arms length” so that companies receiving investment wouldn’t get preferential treatment when it came to commissioning.