Cinesite receives £193.6m funding package

Cinesite has announced a $235 million (£193.6m) funding package to continue its organic and acquisition growth.

NatWest Corporate Bank led the financing alongside Barclays, who are the company’s long standing bankers, with flexibility to allow more institutions to join the banking club as required. The overall package includes, debt, equity and mezzanine lines from existing shareholders, such as investment platform Gryphion.

The funding will allow Cinesite to offer clients greater creative capacity, enter new geographies and business segments, and build on its studio partnership model to expand its talent base and global footprint. It currently has over 2,500 artists and technicians, with headquarters in London, facilities in Montreal and Vancouver, and partner studios in Berlin, Munich (Trixter) Belgrade, Skopje (FX3X) Montreal (Squeeze Animation & L’Atelier Animation), Quebec City (Squeeze), Mumbai (Assemblage Entertainment), and Vancouver (Image Engine).

David Munoz, director of technology, media and telecoms at NatWest Corporate Banking, said: “Continuing our strong support to the sector, we are delighted to lead the arrangement of this package of funding for the Cinesite group. The business has a well-established track record and an outstanding reputation for producing high quality animation and VFX.”

Richard Green, relationship director, technology, media and telecoms, at Barclays Corporate Banking, added: “We have had an excellent relationship with Cinesite for over 10 years and are pleased to be able to support their future growth. This deal highlights our ongoing commitment to the business, as well as the sector as a whole, and we look forward to their continuing succes.”

Cinesite Group CEO Antony Hunt said: “Across the Cinesite group we are very well positioned with significant opportunities to capitalise on increasing demand from Hollywood studios, production companies and streaming services. The platform we have built over the last few years coupled with the three decades of experience, world-class talent and trusted reputation will help us greatly in scaling and widening the scope of our business.”

Hans Oerlemans, managing director of investor Gryphion, commented: “As a long-standing investor seeing the achievements of Cinesite during our tenure made it an easy decision to continue our support. The company is well known for consistently delivering the top quality that is needed in this market and as investors our experience is the same - a management team that delivers.”