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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Birth of a New Super Indie TV Production Group - LDC backs Plimsoll Production in a deal valued at over $100 Million


ACF has advised Grant Mansfield and Plimsoll Productions in creating a new and innovative super indie as Private Equity Firm, Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), partners with Grant in a deal valuing Plimsoll at over $100 Million.

Grant and his team, backed by LDC will continue to grow Plimsoll Productions into the premier home for premium content by adding iconic content companies in an ambitious global growth strategy.

This exciting deal, brokered by Richard Gray of ACF Investment Bank, allows Grant and LDC, to catapult Plimsoll Productions into super indie status over the next few years through acquisitions and organic growth.


Plimsoll Productions

The Plimsoll Productions team consists of numerous BAFTA, Emmy, RTS, and Academy award winning producers. Plimsoll is headquartered in Bristol, with additional offices in Cardiff and Los Angeles.

The company is a leading global independent production company, and is the world’s largest independent producer of natural history content. The company specializes in natural history, documentary, live and factual entertainment programming.

From its first commission in 2014, Plimsoll has grown rapidly with a total workforce of more than 400 people, and has secured orders for 50 series, 14 live shows, and 7 films, including: Hostile Planet with Bear Grylls (National Geographic), Yellowstone Live (National Geographic), Earth Live (National Geographic), Rescue Dog to Super Dog (Channel 4), Britain’s Parking Hell (Channel 5), Life at the Extreme (ITV), and Sit Baby Sit (Channel 4). Plimsoll is also currently in production across multiple unannounced series with leading SVOD platforms.

Plimsoll is on track to generate sales in excess of £37 million. The company’s growth over the last 5 years has demonstrated its ability to scale the business and grow at a significant pace. This proven and sustained track record has delivered commercial success and made Plimsoll a very appealing investment opportunity to many investors.

Fast TrackPlimsoll is one of the fastest growing UK indies and is recognized as one of Sunday Times “Fast Track 100”, Chamber of Commerce “High Growth Business of the Year”, and the Daily  Telegraph “SME Business Leader of the Year”.


Lloyds Development Capital

Lloyds Development Capital is a leading UK private equity firm that backs management teams of growing mid-market businesses with the capital and support to help them build bigger and better businesses. The firm has a portfolio of 90 companies that collectively employ 32,500+ people, and contribute more than £5billion to the UK economy each year.

LDC invests in businesses operating across most sectors of the UK economy and are committed to investing £1.2billion in medium sized businesses over the next three years, Plimsoll represents LDC’s first investment in TV Production.


Programming

Plimsoll Programming Logos
Hostile Planet for National Geographic - Rescue Dog, Super Dog for Channel 4 - Life at the Extreme for ITV

Grant Mansfield, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,  set up Plimsoll Productions in 2013. Under Grants leadership Plimsoll has produced over 50 series across the US, UK and Canada, received numerous creative and business awards, attained the number 3 position in Broadcast’s True Indie list, and can boast leading global streamers and domestic broadcasters as their clients, including; National Geographic, BBC, ITV and Channel 4.


Richard Gray, MD, ACF Investment Bank

“It was a pleasure to work with Grant and the team at Plimsoll Productions. They are premier content producers in the natural history space and their reputation in the industry was evident in the volume of interested Trade and Private Equity investors seeking to be their future partners. Plimsoll’s organic and acquisition growth strategy made Lloyds Development Capital the perfect partner for their continued domestic and international growth.”

Richard Gray, Managing Director ACF Investment Bank


“During the six month process which involved multiple interested Trade and Private Equity companies in London and LA, Richard was on hand to offer excellent advice, provide imaginative solutions to all parties on sticking points and always able to apply his experience, intelligence and good humor in a way that kept the process moving forward. Thanks, in no small measure, to Richard and ACF, Plimsoll now has a great partner for their next stage of the company’s evolution.”

Grant Mansfield, Founder & Chief Executive Officer Plimsoll Productions

Grant Mansfield

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