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 sells leading UK scripted drama producer Neal Street to All3Media

Call The Midwife

ACF Investment Bank is pleased to announce its second transaction this week and the team’s 8th transaction in the scripted sector – the sale of one of the UK’s leading independent drama producers Neal Street Productions to All3Media.

ACF is a leading international specialist investment bank with offices in Los Angeles, London and New York.  Our team has a strong track record of advising scripted TV production businesses and has an invaluable understanding of the scripted business model which helps ensure we can offer unrivalled advice and secure attractive transactions for our clients.

We assist individuals and businesses wishing to maximize the value of people and intellectual property-based businesses.  Our global track record in selling and buying content businesses is unrivalled.  We have advised on over 70 deals in the sector, including more than 36 TV production deals in the last 4 years with a total value of over $3 billion.

If you are considering selling your company, buying a company or raising capital, we have the expertise and track record to help you find the right solution.

For further information or to arrange a meeting please contact: Melissa Castelyn on + 44 (0) 207 467 9600 or Katherine Robbins on + 1 424 332 0450.


Neal Street is one of the UK’s largest independent drama producers, best known for its hugely  successful drama franchise, Call the Midwife, which is the fifth most-watched  scripted series in the world. Series four of the show has recently aired and continued to perform as the BBC’s highest rated drama with consolidated viewing figures of over 10 million.
Neal Street was founded in 2003 by industry leading creatives Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, with Nicolas Brown joining as a director in 2013.  It is a multi-award winning production company with a unique portfolio of successful productions, spanning television, film and theatre with an impressive range of talent relationships.

Current  television projects also include the second series of transatlantic hit, Penny Dreadful, for Showtime in the US, Sky Atlantic in the UK, starring Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Rory Kinnear and Billie Piper, and a second series of critically acclaimed, The Hollow Crown for BBC 2, starring, amongst others; Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench, Hugh Bonneville and Michael Gambon.

Other notable credits include films such as Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go, Starter for 10 and Things We Lost in the Fire. Theatre credits include the award-winning shows: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Shrek the Musical.

The transaction has the benefits of providing Neal Street with a supportive in-house partner and distributor in the form of All3Media and All3Media International to fund, retain and monetize the rights to its international drama programming, as well as allowing Neal Street to maintain it’s distinctive creative independence.


All3Media is a leading independent television, film and digital production and distribution company.  The All3Media group is comprised of 21 production and distribution companies from across the UK, Europe, New Zealand and USA.  All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.


Neal Street Productions Programming Notable Credits

Call The Midwife
Call The Midwife
Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful

“All of us at Neal Street are thrilled to be joining forces with All3Media, a company whose philosophy and style feels totally in tune with our own. The ACF team have guided and supported us through the process of finding the right partner with incredible dedication and attention to detail.  They took the time to understand our business, managed the transaction with immense professionalism and it is difficult to imagine getting to this point without them.”

Nicolas Brown, Pippa Harris, Caro Newling and Sam Mendes, Neal Street Productions

“We are delighted to have advised Sam, Pippa, Caro and Nick on this exciting transaction.  The UK drama sector is going through a fantastic growth period driven by a combination of the high end UK tax credits, demand for high quality scripted content from a large and growing number of distribution platforms and the international popularity of UK drama itself.  The combination of Neal Street’s incredible hit rate, and its relationships with talent, not least Sam himself, the director of the UK’s  highest  grossing   film,  Skyfall,  makes  a  powerful alliance with All3Media’s success in funding and distributing hit international scripted content. We hope Neal Street achieves all of its potential as part of the All3Media Group.”

ACF Investment Bank


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