Spain unveils €100m injection to boost production

Spain’s government has approved an injection of almost €100m (£86m) into an investment company aimed at boosting the country’s audiovisual sector.

Aurora Media Inversiones will invest in businesses to expand productions and filming in Spain, with the €98m financing approved this week by the Council of Ministers.

The move, which is part of Spain’s Audiovisual Hub Plan, was revealed at Conecta Mallorca-Magaluf and will be led by Secuoya Content Group.

Auror Media will be structured as a public-private partnership model in which the Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica (SETT) will take a 49% stake.

The ambition is to increase the competitiveness of the Spanish industry, with the government estimating that the “economic impact” of the investment will generate €2bn and the creation of 3,600 jobs within six years.

Madrid-based Secuoya, which was founded in 2008 and is led by chief exec Raúl Berdonés, is one of Spain’s major audiovisual studios, producing series, films, documentaries and entertainment shows.

It also provides production services (studios, cameras, post-production, audiovisual engineering, and installations), and has offices in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, the US, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Over the last decade, Spain has established itself as a major player in the European production market, with annual growth of 14%, more than double the European average.

The investment is part of the second phase of the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan, which SETT also oversees.