The Pinewood Studios Group was formed by merger of Pinewood and Shepperton Studios at the start of the new millennium. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2004 as Pinewood Shepperton Plc.[4][5] In 2005, Teddington Studios was purchased by the Group.[6][7]
A period of rapid international expansion began in 2009 when The Pinewood Studios Group took over sales and marketing of what was then Filmport (now Pinewood Toronto Studios). Then within three months, three new ventures were announced, two being completely new studio complexes. The first was Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in partnership with Khazanah Nasional Berhad (the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia).[8] Next came the announcement of Pinewood Studio Berlin. Then in February 2011 the company announced that it was planning to open a 35-acre film and television studio in the Dominican Republic.[9][10]
Later in 2011, The Peel Group acquired a controlling 71% interest in the company for £96 million.[11][12]
Project Pinewood
In November 2007, Pinewood announced a £200m expansion plan, known as Project Pinewood.[13] When built the development will see replicas of streetscapes and zones replicating locations from the UK, Europe and the USA.[14][15] Planned zones include a college campus, Amsterdam, modern European housing, Venice, Lake Como, Paris, an Amphitheatre, Prague, West coast American housing, warehousing and downtown New York sets, Chicago, Vienna, a castle, a UK canal, Chinatown and a London street market built.[16] In addition it will also be used as residential housing, with the proposed creative community, expected to be in the region of 2000 and 2250, being integrated with the film locations. Job creation is also a key part of the plan, helping to boost the economy of both the region and the nation as a whole.[16]
An application for planning permission was formally submitted in June 2009.[17] However, the planning application was rejected by South Bucks District Council in October 2009, following a prolonged opposition campaign by local residents, who formed a "Stop Project Pinewood" group.[18] Pinewood have since appealed the decision and a public inquiry commenced on 5 April 2011.[19] In June 2014 Pinewood won its appeal and began developing the expansion.[20]
Recent developments
In February 2015, the name of the company changed from Pinewood Shepperton plc to Pinewood Group plc.[21]
In June 2015, The Peel Group reduced its stake in the company to 39%.[22]
In February 2016, the group confirmed it was considering options for its business, including a possible sale.[23] In July 2016, its two largest shareholders, Goodweather Investment Management owned by The Peel Group and Warren James Holdings agreed to sell their respective holdings to Aermont Capital.[24] Pinewood agreed to the £323 million deal in August 2016, which would take the group private.[25] The sale was completed on 4 October 2016, and the company delisted from the London Stock Exchange the following day.[2]
