07.07
Property Developer John Whittaker Completes His Takeover Of 007 Pinewood Studios And Has Over 60% of the shares in Pinewood Shepperton plc.
Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.
Please also see UPDATE: Feb 2012
http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/
John Whittaker has won.
Where the campaign goes now, it is very hard to say.
As regards Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios, property developer John Whittaker will decide what is to happen with them. He now owns them and his takeover has been cleared by The OFT. It may be that some will complain or criticise his plans for the studios and lands they are on, BUT he is now the legal owner and has obtained it fair and square under the law, albeit that the political apathy in Government, Department of Culture helped.
At 4.34pm today 13,766,499 shares in Pinewood Shepperton plc were sold by Richard Bernstein of Crystal Amber. The value was £27.946 million. It represents around 30% of the total shareholding. Bernstein seems to have obtained the 200p a share plus the annual dividend.
John Whittaker has won.
Although Warren James Holdings, Stockport jewellers have bought 27% of shares, and can prevent Whittaker taking the Company off The Stock Exchange, they can not prevent him doing what he wants with these film studios and the lands they are on. Indeed they may at some stage sell him their shares and it all go private.
Ideally Whittaker wants planning permission for 1400 houses on the 105 acres of greenbelt land which physically joins Pinewood Studios to the M25 and to West London. It looks like he has it in the bag AND it will be confirmed by The Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities before January 2012.
John Whittaker has won.
He alone will determine the future of Pinewood and Shepperton Studios, their sound stages which are the biggest magnet for inward investment in films made in the UK and in effect the longterm future of the British film industry.
The only fair thing to do is to congratulate him and pray that he makes wise and just decisions regarding the film industry over which he has an extraordinary degree of control.
UPDATE: Feb 2012
http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/
http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/please-pray-for-the-peace-and-prosperity-of-jerusalem/
Jonathan Stuart-Brown
www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com
Can he close the studios and do something else with the land?
As the new owner, he can do what he chooses.
http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/2012/03/please-pray-for-the-peace-and-prosperity-of-jerusalem-as-the-psalm-83-war-approaches/
http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/please-pray-for-the-peace-and-prosperity-of-jerusalem/