Staff at St John's Wood were told the news last week. Mike Silverman, co-founder and chief executive of Corinthian, told Broadcast: "It's sad in many ways - I started the business from there. We stuck with it for as long as we could, probably longer than we should, to be honest, because of the emotional attachment we had to the building and the business. We tried to make it viable but couldn't make it work."
He explained that early business had relied on long-term contracts for the studio - these led to more post-production work. But without such long-term contracts the company was relying on walk-in post-production work that didn't make enough money to pay for a large, expensive facility. Silverman believes the market for "gun for hire" post-production, especially in Soho, is oversaturated.
Silverman insisted it was the location that had failed and not the company. He said: "Our Chiswick business is growing. Our clients' needs are growing and I hope to be able to take on all the people from St John's Wood and more people later in the year." He added that discussions with staff were continuing.
He commented: "The company will continue to grow. Longer term, this will benefit the bottom line because keeping St John's Wood open has been so expensive."
Silverman believes the company may be able to replicate the Chiswick model - where dedicated services are provided for a single client. Silverman said the company was talking to clients and other facilities about the possibility of a merger or rescue for the St John's Wood facility. Silverman hoped an agreement would be reached by the end of February.
Corinthian TV was started in 1980 from the St John's Wood building and named after the pillars in front of it. The company spent £15m on building and opening the 85,000 sq ft Chiswick building in 2002. It employs 106 staff and currently plays out five channels,
As well as offering studio, graphics and post services. The facility is run in partnership with Disney.
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