ITV’s decision to close The London Studios is part of an ongoing strategy to reduce its stake in the facilities sector.

Earlier this week, ITV revealed plans to redevelop the South Bank site, which houses its headquarters and The London Studios.

While the revamped site will include small studio facilities for ITV daytime shows including Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women, there are no plans to offer production space to third-parties.

Chief executive Adam Crozier said replicating the existing proposition would require “significant investment”.

“We believe that this investment would not be core to the strategic priorities of the ITV Studios business and so we’re proposing to close TLS and use studio capacity in the external market to meet our future business needs,” he said.

The London Studios

The South Bank building houses five studios for hire

  • Studio 1: 8,350 sq ft with seating capacity for 638
  • Studio 2: 7,200 sq ft with seating capacity for 462
  • Studio 3: 3,136 sq ft with seating capacity for 150
  • Studio 5: 2,268 sq ft
  • Studio 7: 2,050 sq ft with seating capacity for up to 50

The closure of TLS’ studios operation follows the dramatic reduction of the division’s post-production department in early 2015.

At the time, ITV said that it would use third-party post firms to edit and finish programmes made by its producers in place of the internal facility. Staff including editors, dubbing mixers, edit support, bookings and post-producers were made redundant as a result of the move.

At the end of 2015, there were further job losses at the Manchester-based post and crewing company 3sixtymedia as part of an ITVS review.

At the time, an ITVS spokesperson said: “Since we established 3sixtymedia in 2000 production requirements have evolved significantly. As a result, we are reviewing the business to better reflect changing demands.”

ITV Studios owns 90% of the joint venture, with the remaining 10% owned by BBC Studioworks.

The company was formed as part of a merger between BBC Resources in Manchester and Granada’s Manchester studio and post-production facilities. At the time it employed more than 400 staff.

And in October last year, ITV Studios moved the Manchester division of its equipment hire company ProVision from Trafford Park to a new hire facility inside The Sharp Project in east Manchester.

At the same time Provision’s headcount and presence at TV Centre on Kirkstall Road in Leeds was significantly reduced. The changes put a total of nine jobs at risk: eight in Leeds and one in Manchester.