Tin Roof eyes factual indies

Investment firm Tin Roof Media is looking to back four British factual producers in the next five years, following investments in Outline Productions and Blink Films.

Last week, the two-year-old group, set up by Canadian media entrepreneur Neil Court and Twofour founder Charles Wace, took a majority stake in Laura Mansfield and Helen Veale’s indie Outline.

Tin Roof plans to help the Born On The Same Day producer triple in size by developing a slate of large-scale, returnable formats.

“In the past, Outline had a much larger production [team] and it has slimmed down a bit. We want to get it back to where it used to be and we think that with the right kind of financial support, it can get there,” Court told Broadcast.

“The general idea is we go in and help build companies, not only through funding, but to organise them so they can grow. We take away that administrative burden so that programme-makers can focus on developing,” he added.

Alongside Court and Wace, chief financial officer Charles Ogilvie, who previously worked at The Night Manager indie The Ink Factory, will get “stuck in” with the indies, overseeing day-to- day activity.

Expansion funding

Backed by London-based private equity firm Rockpool Investments, the group’s first investment was a majority stake in Dan Chambers and Justine Kershaw’s Blink Films in January 2016.

Tin Roof ’s financial backing has helped the indie branch out into factual entertainment, formats and returning series. As part of the drive, Boomerang’s Jon Lloyd joined the outfit as creative director of popular factual in June last year.

Looking ahead, Tin Roof hopes to acquire or take majority stakes in four more British factual indies and expects to close its next acquisition by the end of the year.

Court is targeting similar-sized factual outfits to Outline and Blink, but is not looking to become the next All3Media.

“It’s not about trying to get size. It’s about getting companies where we can make a material difference with our investment and knowledge of how to scale companies.

We’re looking for ambitious companies where principals want to stay for the long run and grow the company,” he added.

Outline is keen to use the investment to allow it to base more projects outside London. “We’re not using this investment to change genre or specialism,” said Veale.

“We’re still factual entertainment, and still looking to work with a similar base of clients in the UK and US.”

However, the pair expect Tin Roof ’s support will enable them to build a network of talent contacts outside London.

“That’s going to be an increasingly important part of the landscape for indies, and it’s quite difficult for an indie that is fully on its own – the way we were before this deal – to contemplate that sort of move,” said Veale.

Mansfield said the industry is in flux. “There’s a whole range of things that are up in the air, both in terms of nations and regions, so we’re considering a range of options.”

She added: “We already had some minority investors, but we were keen to exit them and work with other partners to help us build and grow. This isn’t us walking away, it’s the start of something.”

Outline has already secured its first commission since the investment, an unannounced primetime returnable format for a UK terrestrial broadcaster. Going forward, the indie expects to pitch “bigger and scarier” 9pm ideas.

“Creating hits and big-impact formats isn’t something that happens overnight,” said Mansfield. “Having the space and ability to build those things is really important to us.”

Outline is currently producing Gender Neutral School for BBC2 and is working with several international distributors to sell its roster of formats abroad, including C4 alternative medicine show Health Freaks.