Save The British Film Industry.Com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

It is always nice when the national newspapers catch up with the story which we have been flagging up for a very longtime.

Richard Bernstein of Crystal Amber is now the biggest shareholder in Pinewood-Shepperton plc.

Just in time for the interim company results.

Not since  007 James Bond took on Scaramanga in  ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’  has there been such a mano-a-mano fight. As no one is filming James Bond 23 at Pinewood Studios (indefinitely), they could just film this. People would buy tickets. The real contestants are Richard Bernstein (007) and John Whittaker (Scaramanga) with Michael Grade as Nick Nack.

But the nationals have yet to get that straight.

We suppose that the decoration players Aberdeen Asset Management and SVG Capital, which hold 10.1 and 7.6 per cent stakes respectively are Britt Ekland and Maud Adams. They look nice and have a role to play but while remaining staunchly loyal to the chief executive, it will eventually dawn on them that he is not 007.

Having said that SVG or Maud Adams does come out with a gem: “We are wholly supportive of Grade, and the campaign against him is damaging and wrong .You’ve got to ask whether the calls are a smokescreen for Crystal Amber’s own poor performance.”

Smokescreen ? Yeah, this is all a smokescreen to cover the British Film jobs going off to Malaysia, Canada, China, while lining up the prime land in Iver Heath and Shepperton for an asset strip sell off. But this is the work of Grade and John  Whittaker not Crystal Amber.

Grade  is also chairman at online grocer Ocado which has hit a new low after floatation. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/marketforceslive/2010/aug/20/ocado-bggroup

Grade has been Chair of First Leisure, BBC, ITV, Hemscott (see more in comments section), Camelot, and a big player in The Millenium Dome which gave him media and government air cover until recently  from intense media scrutiny.

John Whittaker has 224 companies, well last count, and is an Isle of Man tax exile.

http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/2010/08/007-james-bond-23-will-be-called-chrystal-amber/

Here are just a few..tip of the iceberg stuff.

You may recall that Richard Bernstein of Crystal Amber called on Grade to step down before the company’s annual meeting in June, saying that its performance had been poor since it floated on the stock market in 2004. This was in the AGM in which the media were thrown out by the Pinewood Shepperton plc Chairman. A thing so exceptional that The City journalists finally smelt a rat. Shame they did not tie it to Project Pinewood or the other main shareholder John Whittaker  wanting to smash the greenbelt firewall around London’s M25 so that houses and concrete can stretch all over Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Surrey, Dorset, Hampshire and Kent. The Board and Whittaker are also giving  and offering to anyone anywhere the Pinewood brand for their studio (China, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, etc) provided they invest in one of his 200 plus other companies especially in Liverpool and Manchester.

It would be wonderful if The UKFC spoke out on this moving of UK film jobs and diverting of Hollywood investment to the Third world, or in China’s case former Third World. Then again Pinewood Board and Whittaker as then chief shareholder co-commissioned the report which says UKFC is wonderful and that Pinewood must be allowed to build 1400 houses on greenbelt land. So UKFC kept silent and betrayed British film worker jobs.

The wild card is Richard Bernstein of Crystal Amber for whom we cheer loudly.

He has pointed out that operating margins had fallen from 33.5% to 18.9%, with profits down from £10.1m to £4.45m. The shares closed at 168.5p on Friday, compared with 180p when the business was floated in 2004. Michael Grade was then also Chairman of The BBC who moved  big TV productions from Birmingham to Pinewood Studios increasing the share price. It was a good time to sell shares and Grade did.

But Grade is now dealing with Bernstein. Grade said that he intended to stay on and had the support of other shareholders, including his mate John whittaker of the property group Peel Holdings. Grade quit The BBC mid-licence fee negotiations BUT NOT BEFORE he saw Whittaker installed as official preferred bidder to get The BBC billions at his Media City in Salford. 

Grade said at The AGM: “There is a very, very clear majority of shareholders who are very happy with the board’s strategy.”

Richard Bernstein, said last week: “We have nothing against Michael Grade as an individual but the company deserves better stewardship.”

Too right !! So does The British Film Industry !!

A Sunday Times columnist suggested John Whittaker at Peel Holdings back Grade in a Management  Buy Out.  The old gags are the best. Having taken the private company public, now it is going private ?  Might be worth reading this again.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/189003/How-BBC-s-move-to-Salford-will-make-tycoon-richerHow-BBC-s-move-to-Salford-will-make-tycoon-richerHow-BBC-s-move-to-Salford-will-make-tycoon-richer

http://www.englandsnorthwest.com/news_and_features/news/201008/manchester_firm_hunts_chinese_.aspx

Pinewood Shepperton is a means to various other business ends for Whittaker. He has a North-West empire and wants big Chinese and other foreign investment. They can have the Pinewood Studios glamour and brand (and jobs) in their country as an added extra special offer. Breaking the greenbelt firewall around London’s M25 allows property developers to make £500 billion by extending London to Bournemouth, Swindon and Oxford concreting all greenbelt in its path.  This has very little if anything to do with films and film jobs.

It would be fantastic if we had a body, let’s call it The UK Film Council which alerted government to the danger to the British Film Industry and jobs. Instead they co-commissioned a report with property developer John Whittaker and his Pinewood Board to get the stats to say 75 fat cats should keep their jobs and the property developer get his greenbelt for houses !!

So hopes rest on Richard Bernstein not the UKFC.

Bernstein said he believed there was enormous value in the business, which could be unlocked by better management. “For example, Pinewood hasn’t revalued £50m of property for 10 years, even though Michael Grade has said it is worth more. There is a lack of transparency on the makeup of earnings. There is huge scope for operational improvement and more disclosure.”

Pinewood reports half-year figures on Wednesday. Bernstein said: “We think the figures will be OK. But this is mainly due to current trends in the industry – there are a lot of US film companies using UK studios.”

The board’s strategy is to build about 1,400 homes near the studio’s current site on sacrosanct green belt land, but this plan has  been fiercely opposed by local residents (and the atmosphere is now poisonous and Pinewood a toxic brand in South Bucks) and will face a public inquiry next year.  It is costing South Bucks District Council £200 000 for lawyers and they are cutting services to defend their way of life. The Government should help out as every UK greenbelt in the south east will be affected by the precedent.

Please support:

http://www.stopprojectpinewood.webeden.co.uk/

Your greenbelt will be next !

However, Pinewood are in for £10 million and it may be £15 million by next year. On profits around £5 million a year everyone knows it is nonsense.

Whittaker is selling Pinewood brandname for anyone who will invest in his “state within a state” in the North-West.

Once the results are out, Bernstein will press for Grade to go. “The more research we do and the more people we talk to, the more convinced we are that what we are doing is right,” he said.

Moreover, if he will not, Bernstein will bid for a takeover. Then Whittaker is forced to sell or counter-bid. At least then The Government and national news editors will wake up fast…and alert the luvvies.

UKFC was a meaningless nonsense. The real threat to The UK Film Industry is the 34 sound stages at Pinewood and Shepperton. One shareholder would consider keeping them and expanding across The UK. Another wants them sold off for the property value and the jobs sent to the Third World.

In any event Michael Grade can start packing his bags as his time as Chairman is almost over. Crystal Amber want him out and he may be taking Project Pinewood on greenbelt land with him.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/30/michael-grade-pinewood-shareholder-challenge 

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23850464-rebel-pinewood-investor-calls-on-chairman-michael-grade-to-quit.do

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1290725/Pinewoods-Michael-Grade-sent-reeling-shareholders-rebellion.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/pws/7859743/Investor-calls-on-Michael-Grade-to-quit-at-Pinewood-Shepperton.html                                                                          

On the other hand, Isle of Man billionaire  John Whittaker’s Peel Holdings empire (which is 25% owned by  The Saudi   Olayan Group   http://www.olayan.com/index.aspx  ) on 27%  of PWS have choices. Throw Grade under a bus or do they stick with their defence of Grade and the fixation on houses on the greenbelt land  even while making South Bucks District Council cut services as they struggle to find the £200 000 to defend their greenbelt and quality of life ?

The key is the  30% barrier, if you burst through then you must bid for all the company. You must make a takeover bid and an offer for all the shares. This is UK company law.  Peel Holdings and The Saudi backer should have the money, but like everyone with big property interests, they may have borrowed so much on the other stuff they own that cashing in some chips over Pinewood makes sense. Besides if they wanted to take over, why not last summer when Crystal Amber only owned 7% ?

Regardless Grade, the Board, Peel Holdings and a Saudi billionaire can not now under estimate Crystal Amber’s determination nor wallet.  

Make no mistake Richard Bernstein of Crystal Amber is in our view the better bet for longterm film making jobs based in Britain.

If  on the other hand you want houses on greenbelts, with film industry jobs sent out of The UK to Canada, Malaysia, Germany and The Dominican Republic…well cheer for the other side.

Naturally UKFC will be mute as ever on the one issue which needs leadership to save the real British Film Industry. There will be no 50 actors writing to The Telegraph as they are too dim to understand the issues. Spielberg and Eastwood will only wake up when the sound stages are gone and they can not film on them. Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jnr may be filming on them for the last time.

A million Facebook Petitions about ‘Save The Uk Film Council’ will not change that !!

http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/2010/08/yes-ed-vaizey-the-evil-uk-film-council-have-been-using-tax-payer-millions-and-lies-to-whip-up-a-false-protest-to-save-75-fat-cat-bureaucrats/

http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/uk-film-council/

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com