Channel 4 has taken a minority stake in Eleven Film, making this their fifth such investment in an independent production company, from its £20m growth fund.

The acquisition will help drive Eleven’s drama, factual and comedy output, and marks the latest step in Channel 4’s ongoing investment strategy which saw it launch a £20m Growth Fund earlier this year.

Eleven Film has worked extensively with Sky, BBC and Channel 4, and is best known for its eight-part drama series Glue, which was broadcast on E4. Eleven Film are currently filming their latest project; a three-part drama for Sky Living called the Enfield Haunting – starring Matthew Macfayden, Juliet Stevenson and Timothy Spall of Mr Turner fame.

Eleven Film was co-founded by Jamie Campbell and Joel Wilson in 2006.

David Abraham, Chief Executive of Channel 4 said:

“Eleven Film perfectly represent the ambition of the Channel 4 Growth Fund, to help incredibly talented and creative British companies develop and grow their businesses and achieve their ambitions.”

“Jamie and Joel are young, dynamic TV executives who have worked themselves up from grass-roots level to establish a multi-genre production company. We hope through our investment we can help them increase their stronghold in the UK and US particularly in the competitive drama arena.”

Joel Wilson, co-founder and director at Eleven Film, said:

“We are thrilled to be the first drama company Channel 4 has invested in. Channel 4 has supported us creatively since the start of our careers – providing a foundation for us to build strong relationships with a range of other broadcasters. We are hungry to accelerate the growth of Eleven and it’s great to be doing that with a partner we trust.

“This investment will allow us to build an even more dynamic and creative team, and to multiply our drama, comedy and factual output for all the broadcasters we work with at home and internationally.”

Channel 4 has recently taken minority stakes in Arrow Media, Lightbox, Popkorn and True North.

Source: The Drum
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Words: Daniel Pearce