Lord of the Rings Deal
Lord of the Rings Deal
LOTR

CREDIT: THE SAUL ZAENTZ COMPANY

EXCELLENCE
"One Deal to rule them all"
Thomas Dey

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Syco
EXCELLENCE
"ACF's certainly got talent"
Ian Rosenblatt OBE

CREDIT: SYCO ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Bear Grylls
INTEGRITY
“You only get one chance
at life and you have to
grab it boldly”
Bear Grylls

CREDIT: BEAR GRYLLS VENTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Paddington
INSIGHT
“Success doesn't come
to you, you go to it.”
Marva Collins

CREDIT: PADDINGTON AND COMPANY

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Shamrock Capital - Boardwalk Pictures credit
INSIGHT
“Stay true to yourself, never let
what somebody says distract
you from your goals.”
Michelle Obama

CREDIT: BOARDWALK PICTURES

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Pilgrim

CREDIT: PILGRIM STUDIOS

INSIGHT
“Success comes to
those who act!”
Henry David Thoreau

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Leftfield
INSIGHT
“The key to success is to
focus on goals not obstacles”
Unknown

CREDIT: LEFTFIELD ENTERTAINMENT

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Plimsoll Productions

CREDIT: PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS

INSIGHT
“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to
continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Love Productions

CREDIT: LOVE PRODUCTIONS

INTEGRITY
“ When something
is important enough,
you do it even if the odds
are not in your favour”
Elon Musk

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

Top Gear
EXCELLENCE
“Success comes to
those who act”
Henry David Thoreau

CREDIT: TOP GEAR

INTEGRITY

EXCELLENCE

INSIGHT

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ACF advised Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes on the formation of a new Indie, Mainstreet Pictures

Scott & Bailey

ITV’s Drama Exec’s set up new Indie

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce the formation of a new UK Independent Production Company, MainStreet Pictures. The company has been formed as a joint venture between Laura Mackie, Sally Haynes and Boom Pictures Limited.


Laura and Sally will leave their commissioning roles at ITV and take on a new and exciting challenge in a thriving independent TV production sector.

The new venture will see MainStreet Pictures develop into a major UK scripted production company. It will be the exclusive network drama business for Boom Pictures.

Laura and Sally have a prestigious slate of commissioned drama’s for ITV, which include; Downton Abbey, DCI Banks and Scott & Bailey. The shows they have worked on have been nominated for, and won numerous industry awards including; BAFTA, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and RTS Awards.


Boom Pictures was launched in July 2012 by Lorraine Heggessey and Huw Eurig Davies.

The group, backed by the leading private equity firm Lloyds Development Capital, produces ground-breaking content for brands like BT, Bacardi and Nissan through Boomerang and is based in Cardiff and London.

The Boom Pictures group includes; Boom Pictures Cymru, Indus, Oxford Scientific Films and Graham Linehan’s Delightful Industries. They specialise in adventure, environmental and natural history film-making and contemporary factual, natural history, science and history programme making. They make programmes for broadcasters in the UK and US.


Award winning TV Drama's

Scott & Bailey
Scott & Bailey
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey

Commisssioning Executives for Scott & Bailey, DCI Banks and Downton Abbey.


“Navigating our way through the twists and turns of securing backing for a start-up indy was incredibly daunting. The insight, knowledge, patience and negotiating skills of the ACF team were invaluable. They supported us every step of the way and worked to secure a deal that was the right fit for us in both creative and business terms. We simply couldn’t have done it without them.”

Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes, MainStreet Pictures

“We are pleased to have provided Laura and Sally with advice and guidance throughout the whole process from the development of a business plan through to finding the perfect partner in Boom Pictures. This is a natural strategic career progression for Laura and Sally who have an outstanding track record of award winning TV dramas. Laura and Sally are excited to join Lorraine Heggessey and the team at Boom Pictures in what we expect to be a very successful joint venture”

ACF Investment Bank


Our wealth of experience has shown what will add value during a sale process and we often assist with strategic advice that  should add to the eventual sale proceeds. This includes reviewing your management objectives and facilitating the implementation of a short or long term strategic plan.

Sometimes it is lonely at the top. We can offer a range of support to help you make those
tough business decisions. These include:

  1. Incentive schemes
  2. Professional advisor recommendations.
  3. Negotiation tactics
  4. Growth plans

5/5

What People Are Saying

“Since this was our first time working with an investment bank and raising capital for any of our businesses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. ACF has a great reputation and came highly recommended from several people that I hold in high regard. Overall, the experience working with Richard, Milos and Thomas was pure joy. They were the perfect partner for us, as they educated us as we were working through the process, they challenged us to think bigger about the scope and scale of our business, and they aggressively represented our business in the marketplace bringing multiple opportunities to us in a very challenging economic time. The partnership and guidance they provided was essential and they were extremely easy to work with. I only hope this is the first of many deals that we are able to execute together.”

Shawn Gee
Two One Five Entertainment

"ACF’s certainly got talent. Their team, led by the ever-tenacious Thomas Dey, delivered on their promises and introduced the perfect partners to achieve our goals."

Ian Rosenblatt OBE, Director
Syco Entertainment

"Given the complexities and importance of the rights at stake in our transaction, we interviewed several investment bank candidates at length before retaining ACF to guide our process.  We could not have chosen better!  ACF personnel were dedicated, creative, practical, responsive and deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sales process. Over the months involved, Thomas, Richard, Tatiana and the rest of the ACF staff met with and worked skillfully and credibly with scores of potential buyers and with our own employees leading ultimately to a high value and very fair outcome benefitting both our company and the buyer. They have our deep respect and gratitude for a job so well accomplished"

Marty Glick, COO
The Saul Zaentz Company

“At this stage of 72’s development, there are great advantages and opportunities of joining forces with Fremantle. Their extensive international infrastructure and expertise will provide 72 Films with the platform to have our work seen across the world. We know and like their excellent team. And they offer us not only fantastic support but complete creative freedom so we can continue to work in the same way.

It’s been a real pleasure working with Thomas Dey and the whole team at ACF. They are brilliant at what they do. And alongside Matisse it’s been an incredible team behind this deal.”

Mark Raphael, David Glover, Founders and Chief Executive Officers
72 Films

“This exciting new deal between Broke and Bones and Netflix marks an exciting period of content creation, demonstrating the strong relationship between market leading creatives and the streaming platforms. ACF brokered the deal using our strong track record, experience and access in the UK and USA scripted markets. Premium content continues to lead the market with strong deals that ACF have closed including advising Mammoth Screen on sale to ITV, Neal Street to All3Media, Left Bank Pictures to Sony, Thinkfactory to ITV, Paddington Bear to Studio Canal, New Pictures to All3Media, and Carnival Pictures to NBC Universal.”

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"It has been an incredible journey for Delbert and I to get to the stage where we can build out our adventure shows under our own Studio. We stand on the shoulders of many giants, the ACF team have been incredible guides through the process - at its heart this is about building the ultimate home of adventure programming worldwide."

Bear Grylls & Delbert Shoopman
The Natural Studios

"Critical Content has been a leading player in the unscripted space for the last decade, led by a first class team. Media continues to dominate the deal landscape, with content leading the pack. What a great start to 2022! Congratulations to the whole team."

Thomas Dey, CEO
ACF Investment Bank

"Boardwalk Pictures are one of the preeminent producers of premium content and this partnership with Shamrock secures Boardwalks positioning as a leading player in this market. Shamrock’s deep understanding and experience in the content space makes them great partners for Andrew and the team at Boardwalk. I look forward to seeing the growth and future success of this partnership."

RIchard Gray, Managing Director
ACF Investment Bank