The new post facility, which should be ready by spring, will have its own floor and will be branded separately from LPC which already provides studios, graphics, post and playout services. However, many of the clients, particularly in post-production, are long-term 'residents' and, according to creative services director John Cooper, the new facility will be aimed specifically at the traditional Soho short-term market.
LPC managing director Maurizio Cimelli said the move was part of LPC's plan to transform itself from an engineering-based former Thames TV/Pearson TV department to a fully fledged facility house. 'If we're not already, we are very close to being a proper facility house,' he said.
Cimelli added: 'Playout is a very big part of our business but we should be offering more services such as post-production and asset management in the Soho facility style. We are sitting on a gold mine of clients and we should be able to offer them a wider range of services.'
The new facility is in the 'early stages of development', according to Cimelli, but although work is expected to start in the new year, he would not be drawn on what technology he would be choosing to employ.
The firm has undergone a restructure over the past 10 months which has resulted in the creation of the LPC brand, the loss of four senior management positions and a process of changing the firm's culture. Cimelli said: 'The result is that we are now more people-focused and offer career possibilities. We originally gave ourselves 18 months to turn things around but in less than six months we saw a positive change.'
Despite having started as an in-house facility, Cimelli said that only 5 per cent of the firm's revenue now comes from in-house clients such as Channel 5 and Fremantle. Large external clients include Discovery and Flextech.
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