Pinewood Shepperton Share Discussion Threads

[loafofbread] 22/8/2010 15:12

Results Wednesday.

Pinewood splashed all over the Sunday Times and Observer.

Could be a fun week.

[loafofbread] 10/8/2010 11:50

Pinewood on location alarms the neighbours
The green and pleasant land around Pinewood Shepperton could soon smell of New York sidewalk hotdogs and throb to the beat of Amsterdam nightclubs.

By Rupert Neate
Published: 10:02PM BST 08 Aug 2010

The film studio, which plays host to James Bond, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean, is planning to turn 105 acres of greenbelt land next to the M25 into "living sets" of 17 locations from around the world.

"Over there will be San Francisco, behind that, near that clump of trees will be Amsterdam and Venice. Over on the other side will Boston, Prague and Berlin," says Ivan Dunleavy, Pinewood's chief executive as he looks out across the proposed site from the roof of Pinewood's current studios across the road.

"It really will be a unique place to live, who can wake up in Paris, cross a Venetian canal, and be in New Orleans before you've finished your first cup of coffee."

The streets won't be the paper ones seen in Hollywood. Pinewood is proposing to build real bricks and mortar homes for about 3,100 people. "It will be a living, breathing, community with shops and a school," says Mr Dunleavy. "It will just look different."

Mr Dunleavy says the 1,400 homes will be state-of-the-art. "The facades will be built to look like Paris or Vienna, but behind they will be normal homes with 100 Mb broadband."

Between the flats and houses there will be normal streets so the milkman won't disturb the filming of James Bond in his latest brush with Jaws.

However, the £200m Project Pinewood plan to create a little bit of Hollywood on the outskirts of Slough will only go ahead if Pinewood emerges victorious from an epic battle with planning authorities and its vociferous locals.

Last October, the South Buckinghamshire District Council rejected Pinewood's application to turn the green belt site into "the biggest living creative hub in the UK".

Pinewood has appealed to The Planning Inspectorate and a public enquiry is expected next spring. People close to the project are growing increasingly confident that the decision will favour Pinewood due the "very special circumstances".

"Pinewood Studios has a history to be proud of and a heritage to be cherished. Pinewood Studios is a modern working film and television studio and the only provider of world-class production facilities and services on such a scale in Europe," said Mr Dunleavy in Pinewood's planning application. "But it cannot rest on its laurels. It has to keep pace with accelerating change and competition in the worldwide creative industries. Film and television production is rapidly evolving with advances in technology and a proliferation of new forms of content delivery. Pinewood Studios must respond if it is to play its role in maintaining the UK as a leading creative nation.

Pinewood is a uniquely innovative response to the challenges not just of today, but of the future."

Mr Dunleavy says the project is even more important now than when it was first proposed in 2007 because it will create up to 960 jobs and bring in cash from producers choosing to film in the UK.

"This is a very important project for Pinewood and for UK creative industries," he says.

If planning decisions go in Pinewood's favour, building on the project, which has the backing of Ridley Scott, Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Puttnam, could start in early 2013.

However, the residents of Iver Heath, a village that surrounds Pinewood, are gearing up for a David and Goliath battle to halt the project in its tracks. Although Sylvie Lowe, chairman of Stop Project Pinewood group, is "immensely proud" of living near the home of Bond and the Carry On films, she does not want "our village doubled in size".

The Stop Project Pinewood group allege that Project Pinewood is a "clever wheeze" to "turn a failing film company into a real estate developer". Pinewood denies the suggestion and reiterates that the project is designed to ensure the long-term future of UK creative industries.

Stop Project Pinewood's latest plan to scupper the development is to use Victorian village green laws. The campaign group is using two 19th century laws – The Inclosure Act 1857 and the Commons Act 1876 – which make it a criminal offence to do anything that may injure the green, or interrupt the use of enjoyment of it as a place for exercise or recreation by placing anything on the fields. "If you've used something continually for 20 years it almost becomes yours," Ms Lowe says. "You can ask for that to become the village green."

Pinewood says the village green application is a delaying tactic which will cost the local community £200,000. The studio also says it will be difficult to prove that the villagers have used the land historically as it was a landfill site for the M25.

[loafofbread] 06/8/2010 16:20

Sets on our side for once.

[loafofbread] 05/8/2010 15:20

Another MM has joined our merry band.

140k on the bid at £1.60!

Things looking very interesting.

[loafofbread] 27/7/2010 10:50

Someone just bought 2%. 800k @145p

[loafofbread] 12/5/2010 08:04

Decent IMS.

Excuse for a little director buying?

[loafofbread] 25/3/2010 15:27

Good to see Pinewood taking part in the recent market rally or even a pre results rally!

Christ, was that a trade...

[loafofbread] 07/2/2010 20:32

Fom todays Sunday Times.

Activist takes aim at Pinewood Shepperton bosses

ONE of the leading shareholders in Pinewood Shepperton will this week call for showdown talks with Michael Grade, the chairman of the film studio group, over his strategy for the business.

Crystal Amber, which has built a 16.6% stake in the home of the James Bond movies, wants Pinewood to develop aggressively its property assets, which include unused land on its back lot.

The activist fund, led by Richard Bernstein, believes it is not alone in its frustration that Pinewood, worth £74m, is undervalued, and has canvassed fellow shareholders for support. The company's largest investor, with 27%, is Peel Holdings, the property group behind the BBC's new Salford base. Aberdeen Asset Management and SVG Capital also own stakes. Pinewood shares have outperformed the FTSE All-Share index by 14% in the past year but at 164Çp still lag their 2004 float price of 180p. The company, which has been used to shoot many blockbusters, including Russell Crowe's new Robin Hood movie, has diversified into television to smooth income stream and has expanded overseas, though a £200m development of its Buckinghamshire site met with local resistance. Grade led a buyout of Pinewood from Rank in 2000.


Not before time.

[loafofbread] 10/1/2010 22:33

Pretty obvious that Thursdays 521K volume would be Crystal buying again and as the FT says safely above 15%.

What is more interesting is that someone was happy to take out the order book in the last hour of trading and give us that big rise on very little volume (66K). Whats changed? CAF have kept a lid on the price in order to fill up at 124/131/132. If they haven't finished buying they will send it straight down again. If they have finished I'm sure they will be happy to see it flat line at the new price.

Still can't believe the lack of interest in this stock.

Out of interest Ed Jackson over on iii did a lovely write up just before Xmas. Well worth a read.

[kooba] 09/1/2010 20:16

ft market report
"The owner of the James Bond and Harry Potter film studios, Pinewood Shepperton, climbed 9.4 per cent to 148½p amid talk that investment fund Crystal Amber had increased its holding to 15 per cent ahead of moves aimed at extracting value from the company's property assets."

[loafofbread] 03/12/2009 09:12

After the market closed last night Crystal Amber Fund confirmed their holding had increased to 14%.

Maybe something in it.

[loafofbread] 03/12/2009 09:03

MARKET REPORT: Pinewood drama takes a new twist
By Geoff Foster
Last updated at 12:17 AM on 02nd December 2009

Some people might say that activist fund Crystal Amber deserves an Oscar for building up a strategic stake in Pinewood Shepperton, whose film studios in Buckinghamshire were used for the production of Slumdog Millionaire, Harry Potter and various James Bond and Carry On film classics.
But the shrewd investor surely topped up their shareholding to 12.34pc, or 5.4m shares, believing the real action could be about to start.
Pinewood, 4p lower at 123p, has a meagre market capitalisation of £57.5m, net debt of around £44m and net assets per share of 154p. It has been a serious underperformer for too long and other shareholders are known to be getting pretty restless.
Chairman Michael Grade and the board recently received a kick in the teeth when South Bucks District Council rejected 'Project Pinewood', its ambitious plan to expand Pinewood Studios, on the grounds that it comprised development in green belt.
Rumours now suggest that the move by Crystal Amber (unchanged at 112p) could be a precursor to Peel Holdings, the property giant owned by billionaire John Whittaker, using its 26pc shareholding at last as a launch pad to bid for Pinewood at a level well in excess of the current share price.

Whittaker owns Mersey Docks, the Manchester Ship Canal and the John Lennon Liverpool Airport and has always had his eye on Pinewood's vast property assets.
With the share price on its knees and property prices gradually moving north, it could be a perfect time for him to pounce, leaving Crystal Amber with yet another tasty turn on its investment.

[boxwellian] 15/1/2009 21:09

Price-to-Net Tangible Asset Value PS 0.96 Strong Dollar must make Filming in UK a lot cheaper than a year ago.

[walker10] 04/12/2008 15:48

Has our friend John Whittaker - Peel Holding been in the market for more stock holding at present 24% - Someone has traded large volume today - we will see!!!

[walker10] 18/11/2008 08:49

Recession? Global downturn? You're joking, right? For in the alternate financial universe of film these normally terrifying terms are ambiguous, unthreatening and even, in some cases, downright exciting. In Hollywood, optimists are pointing back to the huge surge in cinema admissions after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (audience figures jumped 58 per cent on the previous year) as a template for things to come.

[boxwellian] 29/10/2008 18:25

It added it has concluded new financing arrangements that will support its
growth strategy for the next five years.

[loafofbread] 06/3/2008 16:45

Showing signs of life again.