Billion-dollar production company acquires 25% of Leeds TV business
A global production and distribution house based in London, FremantleMedia has acquired a 25% stake in a Leeds indie film and TV business, Duck Soup Films.
Established in 2015, the scripted film and television business was founded by producers Libby Durdy Jessica Holyland and Bekki Wray Rogers, all of BAFTA-award winning This is England fame and International Emmy Award winning Utopia.
Duck Soup, a Leeds business, is a recipient of the BFI Vision Awards 3 for its film slate and since its inception has received investments from Creative England and Channel 4 – all of which have been vital for its development and growth.
RTL-owned FremantleMedia is a distribution giant that turned over $1.6bn a year. It is part of the $17bn Bertelsmann group of companies, which also owns publisher Penguin Random House.
Fremantle creates, produces and distributes shows including: American Gods, Got Talent (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), The X Factor (co-produced with Syco in the UK), Take Me Out, Family Feud, Neighbours, Grand Designs, Jamie Oliver, Danger Mouse, Munchies (with VICE Media), and The Football Republic.
Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO FremantleMedia, said: “Duck Soup is an exciting business with three incredibly talented founders at its helm. They have a refreshing determination to portray a broad range of perspectives through creative storytelling, and we’re looking forward to being part of their success.”
Durdy said: “We pride ourselves on being able to find and nurture incredible talent that shares our distinct vision and to support them in creating high-quality content.”
Wray-Rogers added: “We are so happy to have found a likeminded partner in FremantleMedia who really understand and back our creative process.”
Holyland said: “This is a huge statement of confidence in a UK voice outside of London and we are thrilled to be embarking on this journey together.”
FremantleMedia has made a number of investments in creative talent over the last 18 months, most recently Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It TV.
