Silver Salt Restoration acquired by John Gore Media Ltd

London restoration facility, Silver Salt Restoration, has been acquired by John Gore Media Limited.

Silver Salt’s credits include 4K restorations of American Werewolf in London, Don’t Look Now, Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV series), Lavender Hill Mob, Bruce Lee’s Golden Harvest boxset, The Deer Hunter, Narc, Flash Gordon (pictured above), Cross of Iron, Brideshead Revisited, Watership Down, Get Carter and The Lady Killers.

The company has also restored titles including When Harry Met Sally, True Romance, The Wicker Man, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Conan the Barbarian, Dr Who and the Daleks (pictured above), Kind Hearts and Coronets, Prince of Darkness and They Live.

Silver Salt’s clients include Apple Corps, Arrow, BBC Motion Gallery, The BFI, Blue Underground, BritBox, Criterion, Powerhouse, Second Sight, Shout Factory, StudioCanal and 88 Films.

It was founded in 2017 by industry veterans Steve Bearman, Ray King, Mark Bonnici, Anthony Badger and Nick Pannaman. Its kit list includes the Hydra film cleaner, ARRI XT film scanner with wetgate, two full Davinci Resolve 4K grading suites with grade one HDR monitors and restoration software Phoenix, PFClean, DRS Nova as well as two Diamant film restoration systems.

10 staff are employed by Silver Salt Restoration, and, following the acquisition, Mark Bonnici (pictured left) will continue at the company as managing director.

He said: “We’ve been very proud of our work and our reputation across the industry and especially with the film fans themselves. We had big dreams for Silver Salt Restoration and in lots of ways many of these have already been realised.

“However, we all agreed that we had probably taken the company as far as we possibly could as a small firm, and if we were to reach the full extent of our ambitions, we’d need to be part of something bigger.

“As a film fan, John Gore was already aware of us from our work on previous titles. So, when he was looking for a restoration partner, he immediately thought of us.

“What has made this such a perfect fit is the realisation that working in such high resolution, these films may never be restored again therefore quality and film conservation play a big part in what drives us. What we liked about John was that we shared the same values for excellence and respect for the audience.”

John Gore, CEO of John Gore Media Limited, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Silver Salt Restoration into the John Gore family. Their unparalleled expertise in film restoration and their deep commitment to preserving cinematic history align perfectly with our vision.

“The work done on some of the most iconic films of all time is exceptional, and we are excited to support their growth and continue delivering the highest quality restorations to global audiences. This acquisition marks a significant step in expanding our media portfolio and furthering our dedication to excellence in entertainment.”

John Gore is a British film producer. He has won 15 Tonys, an Olivier and an Emmy Award.