The U.K.’s studio sector has been booming in recent years, with new facilities opening up across the country to meet the growing demand. However, this growth may be in jeopardy if the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike is not resolved soon. According to a studio boss, the industry’s reliance on Hollywood productions, which accounted for 86% of the $7.8 billion spent on film and high-end TV production in 2022, has put many U.K. facilities at risk.
Nick Smith, joint managing director of Shinfield Studios, which has recently opened and is set to be the fourth largest studio in the U.K., expresses concern about the potential impact of the strike. He reveals that the studio’s stages, which were used for Disney+’s Star Wars series The Acolyte, are currently sitting empty with no new projects scheduled to fill the space. Other U.K. facilities such as Ealing and Elstree, which typically work project to project, are also expected to be significantly impacted.
While established studios like Pinewood and Shepperton, which have long-term leases in place with Disney and Netflix respectively, are expected to be largely unaffected, there has been a noticeable slowdown in the growth of the U.K. studios market even before the actors strike. The $900 million Sunset Studios development in Hertfordshire, a collaboration between Blackstone and Hudson Pacific, has been put on hold due to uncertainties over business tax rates, construction inflation, rising utility costs, and now the strikes.
These factors have created uncertainty in the industry, leading many studio owners and investors to question whether it is the right time to build new infrastructure in the U.K. However, despite the challenges, Smith remains optimistic about the future of the U.K. studio sector. He sees the strike as an opportunity to focus on the construction of additional stages at Shinfield Studios, with the belief that the demand for production will still be there when the industry resumes.
Related Post
“There’s nothing to suggest that the U.K. won’t be attractive for production going forward,” says Smith. “So if anything, I think we’re going to experience a rush, similar to the COVID effect, where everything stops and then there’s a surge in activity. I want to be prepared with as many stages as possible when that rush happens.”
In conclusion, the SAG-AFTRA strike poses a serious threat to the U.K.’s booming studio sector. With Hollywood productions accounting for the majority of investment in the industry, many facilities are at risk of being impacted by the strike. However, despite the challenges, industry professionals like Nick Smith remain hopeful that the demand for production will rebound once the strike is resolved. In the meantime, studio owners and investors must carefully consider the timing and viability of new infrastructure projects in the U.K.
