Two post-production houses have brought in liquidators in recent weeks as the sector battles tough trading conditions

Joint and VPP

Two post-production houses – The Joint and Virtual Post Production – have been wound up after appointing liquidators.

Both post houses brought in liquidators in the last month and both have been wound up voluntarily.

Virtual Post Production had an office in Brighton, while The Joint and Virtual Post Production both listed 37 Percy Street, London as their London address.

The ‘notice of statement of affairs’ from the liquidator for The Joint indicated it had liabilities amounting to just over £400K at the point of being wound up.

An extract from the directors’ report for the company said: “Towards the end of 2023, it became apparent people were quieter than previous years and commissioning fell drastically. This was partly due to over-commissioning immediately after COVID-19, but also due to the recession and advertising revenues falling.

“The company did not start feeling the effects until the beginning of 2024, when it was noticed that there was a downturn in work. Having had a strong couple of years, the company’s revenue dipped drastically and, unfortunately, has not recovered quickly enough.”

The report also added that “a huge number of potential new jobs were also quoted for which, had they happened, could have potentially saved the company. However, the work did not materialise.”

The Joint offered full service post-production, with nine Avid/Adobe dual-boot offline suites, grading and online on Resolve and Avid Symphony, and audio post-production in a ProTools audio suite with voiceover booth.

Its recent credits include RAYE Live at the Royal Albert Hall (BBC1); Red Bull Racing 20th Season Launch - Opening VT; Eurovision: 30 Unforgettable Moments (Channel 5).

Meanwhile, Virtual Post Production brought in liquidators on 9 August 2024. The notice of statement of affairs for the company indicated liabilities totalling more than £800K, including to HMRC and to Barclays bank.

The company had recently celebrated 10 years in the industry, and its credits included RAYE at the Royal Albert Hall (BBC1); A&E After Dark (5Star); Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted (Discovery+).

Virtual Post Production, as it name suggested, was focused on offering virtual post services, providing clients with the option to do offline, sound and picture finishing remotely or in-house.

The company said it went through “great lengths to replicate the traditional post-production experience wherever you need it.”

The post-production sector is going through a period of change as it struggles to cope with a combination of factors creating challenging trading conditions.

These include a widely acknowledged slowdown in commissions from key broadcasters and streaming services over the last 12-18 months, and the impact of the temporary halting of work triggered by the writers’ and actors’ strikes.

Halo and Evolutions recently combined forces, with Halo CEO John Rogerson saying at the time: “It’s no secret that the post sector has struggled over the last 12 months and in order to survive, consolidation is vital.”

This year has also seen Glasgow-based Arteus go into administration.