IN THE PRESS
The pair making film studios cool again
PROPERTY WEEK | 4/03/2021
Piers Read, the film studios developer bringing tinseltown to London town
EVENING STANDARD | 24/02/2021
Piers Read is taking me around north London’s new “mini Barbican”. Currently a muddy building site, Crouch End’s Hornsey Town Hall is undergoing a £30 million restoration project to turn it into a major new community arts centre.
Twickenham Studios unveils £15m investment plan to rejuvenate business
DAILY MAIL | 15/02/2021
Historic movie venue Twickenham Studios to get £15 million revamp
EVENING STANDARD | 15/02/2021
The two TV production Managing Partners who took over the running of Twickenham Studios last year today unveiled a £15 million investment plan to build a new TV studio, cutting edge sound production studios and flexible offices for local creative businesses.
More details of £15m Twickenham expansion released
15/02/2021
The new developments include a state-of-the-art TV studio including audience participation, upgraded sound production studios, a second sound mixing suite to host tent-pole productions with Dolby Atmos in both and, central to the transformation, will be the construction of a brand new entrance building creating new public spaces with flexible workspaces, a boutique cinema, a café and rooftop social bar area.
$300 Million U.K. Studio Project Gets Planning Permission
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 23/04/2020
The Ashford International Film Studios — from a newly-established U.K. studios investment fund — will be built on the site of a former railway works, and include four TV and film studios.
Ashford International Film Studios gets planning greenlight
TELEVISUAL | 23/04/2020
Planning consent was granted last night for the new Ashford International Film Studios. The £250m studio-led transformation of Kent’s derelict Newtown Railway Works by Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird’s The Creative District Improvement Company (TCDI) and Quinn Estates was passed at the first ever virtual meeting of Ashford Borough Council.
‘Once in a generation film studio-led development gets go-ahead’
QUINN ESTATES | 23/04/2020
Planning approval has been granted for Newtown Works, an ambitious £250m film studio-led regeneration of a derelict railway works in Ashford, Kent, with Amazon and Netflix among a number of global streaming giants poised to back the scheme.
Multimillion pound film studio development in Ashford given the go ahead
ITV NEWS | 23/04/2020
Plans to build a £250m film studio creating 2,000 jobs in Ashford have been approved by council planners. The Newtown Works development is due to be built on a disused railway yard that's been derelict since the 1980s.
Investing Amid a Pandemic: Why Coronavirus Hasn't Stopped a U.K. Studio Fund
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 30/03/2020
The co-founder of The Creative District Improvement Company — a $600 million fund aimed at U.K. studios that launched just days before film and TV production shut down — explains why it is moving ahead.
Jeremy Rainbird talks about plans for Ashford International Film Studio on BBC Radio Kent
BBC RADIO KENT | 24/03/2020
Jeremy Rainbird talks to Dominic King on BBC Radio Kent about The Creative District Improvement Company's plans to develop the derelict Newtown Railway Works in Ashford into a Film and TV Studio.
TCDI announces £250m investment in Kent studio
BROADCAST | 23/03/2020
The Creative District Improvement Company (TCDI Co.) has partnered with property developers Quinn Estates to deliver a £250 million investment in Kent’s TV and Film studios.
U.K. Studios Fund to Invest in $290 Million Complex Outside London
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 23/03/2020
With the U.K.'s film and TV production in lockdown amid the new coronavirus epidemic, a major new studio facility is hoping to be up and running by the time it kickstarts again.
New 240,000 sq ft studios planned for Ashford, Kent
TELEVISUAL | 23/03/2020
Plans have been announced to develop Kent’s derelict Newtown Railway Works into four TV and film studios in 240,000 square feet of dedicated production space generating 3,000 jobs in the Ashford area.
Hollywood-style studio in Kent moves step closer despite UK shutdown
THE GUARDIAN | 22/03/2020
A new Hollywood-style production studio planned for Ashford in Kent has come a step closer after securing £250m in funding, as its backers aim to capitalise on the Netflix-led boom in TV and film production.
New $292 Million Film & TV Studios to Be Built in Ashford, South-East England
VARIETY | 22/03/2020
The Creative District Improvement Company has teamed up with property developers Quinn Estates to invest £250 million ($292 million) in Ashford International Studios, a new film and TV studios in Ashford, South-East England, which they say will create 3,000 jobs.
British Film Studios Secure £500M Funding
BROADCAST | 02/03/2020
The Creative District Improvement Company (TCDI) and subsidiary operating company, Time + Space Studios, are to invest £500 million in a network of film studios across the UK.
London tycoons Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird in £500m film studios venture
EVENING STANDARD | 02/03/2020
Two of London’s top TV and advertising tycoons have secured £500 million of institutional investment to build Britain’s first network of world-class film studios and capitalise on the Netflix-led boom in production.
UK investors launch £500m UK studio fund, acquire Twickenham Studios
SCREEN DAILY | 02/03/2020
UK TV and advertising executives and property developers Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird are leading a new fund which aims to invest £500m into the UK studio sector.
U.K.’s Twickenham Studios Set for Revamp in $64 Million Deal
VARIETY | 02/03/2020
The U.K.’s Twickenham Studios is set for major investment following a £50 million ($64 million) deal that has seen property developer General Projects and urban regeneration specialists The Creative District Improvement Company (TCDI) take a 50% stake in the studios.
$640 Million U.K. Studios Fund Launches, Acquires London's Twickenham
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 02/03/2020
The new fund aims to invest in a network of studios across the U.K. where production spend last year hit an all-time high.
General Projects & British Airways Pension Fund team up to buy Twickenham Studios for over £20m
PROPERTY WEEK | 02/03/2020
General Projects and the British Airways Pension Fund has completed the acquisition of Twickenham Studios for £21m.
Inbetweeners producer secures £500m funding for Twickenham studios
THE TELEGRAPH | 02/03/2020
The producer of the Inbetweeners and a top London advertising tycoon have secured £500m in institutional investment for a network of film studios across the UK to meet the industry’s growing demand for studio space.
Rainbird, Read buy Twickenham, plan £500m studios network
TELEVISUAL | 02/03/2020
Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird’s company The Creative District Improvement Company (TCDI Co.) and subsidiary operating company Time + Space Studios, have announced a £500m investment in a network of film studios across the UK and have bought Twickenham Studios in a £50m deal.
And action! Ditched Dagenham studio plan back on, says developer
THE GUARDIAN | 20/11/2019
Prefered bidder for site shelved plan due to Brexit but rival still keen as studio demand booms. Stalled plans to build a Hollywood-style studio in Dagenham East have been thrown a lifeline, with a backer offering £179m to get the first new TV and film studio built in London in 25 years.
Is this Kent site Britain’s answer to Hollywood?
ITV NEWS | 05/09/2019
It’s the longest listed building in Britain and it has been derelict for more than 20 years. But bold new plans have been revealed that could turn Ashford’s former railway works into Britain’s answer to Hollywood – a production base for big broadcasters like Netflix.
Netflix set to move into TV and film studios on Ashford railway works site
KENT ONLINE | 14/03/2019
Video streaming giant Netflix is set to make new film and TV studios in Ashford its UK base, KentOnline understands. Mark Quinn of Quinn Estates is hoping to transform derelict engine sheds on the former railway works in Newtown Road into seven state-of-the-art studios.