Film company doubles capacity after £500k investment

From left: Rhiannon Lewis, Simon Lewis, David Chandler

Manchester-based film and content production company, The Gate, has doubled its capacity following a £500,000 investment allowing it to build new edit suites, open new offices and recruit additional team members.

Following a management buyout and the investment by QVi Invest, the 22-year-old company has reinstated founder Simon Lewis at the helm, accompanied by heads of production Rhiannon Lewis and James Shannon.

This high-value investment has been used to future-proof the well-established business by providing five new edit suites, a new office in Bristol as well as enabling the recruitment of new team members to handle an ever-increasing client roster.

The Gate’s new edit suites at its 8,000 sq ft Manchester city centre base enable the team to make multiple versions faster and to be more reactive for clients who require content in many formats.

High-level animation, visual effects and audio projects can all be executed in-house more swiftly and cost effectively.

Simon Lewis, owner and chief executive, said: “With film production now at the forefront of most marketing campaigns, and the shift from traditional TV to multi-screen campaigns, we have had to drastically shift our business model to stay relevant.

“We need to be able to produce effective campaigns with more speed, agility and cost effectiveness, and be able to engage with the relevant audience wherever they are watching.

“Over 50% of the film we produce now is for social channels, so the way we make film has to reflect this. We can now offer photography along with film, from our MediaCity studios.

“We’re delighted to open a permanent base in Bristol, which is such a hot-bed for animation and creativity.”

The Gate’s new Bristol Office will be headed up by David Chandler, previously senior vice president of client services globally for Harte Hanks, as managing partner.

He said: “I wanted to join a business that is able to move and transform as the needs of our clients change – offering a much more strategic approach to film campaigns and also being able to partner with clients and teams in a collaborative way.

“This is an exciting time to be joining The Gate – we have a great leadership team, a huge amount of ambition as well as the energy and creativity to keep pushing boundaries.”

The Gate has also brought in 10 new members for its production team, including Mike Nixon as head of post-production, together with James Clancy and Graeme Hill as in-house directors, ‘The Queen’, Olivier Richomme, Marcus Mead and Canister also being added to the director roster, with Harley Spence and Emma Ako joining the post-production and animation team.

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