Animation production house to create jobs with funding boost
Second Home Studios, an animation studio and production house based in Digbeth, Birmingham, has received a £250,000 funding package which will be used to renovate its studios, create jobs and drive production of longer stop-motion animation series.
SHSL was founded in 2004 by Christopher Randall and since its inception, the business has won a host of accolades, including four Royal Television Society awards and two British Animation Awards, while also producing BAFTA-winning work for CiTV.
SHSL has recently been commissioned by Channel 5, BBC Alba (Scotland), S4C (Wales) and TG4 (Ireland) to produce a pre-school stop-motion animation series called Tweedy & Fluff. This new series is a great opportunity for the studio to expand its horizons into long-form production and the business has moved into new studios in Digbeth to accommodate the series.
The studio has a reputation for its innovative, stop-motion animation, but is currently making strides into Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) animation experiences.
The company has a diverse portfolio working with a range of notable companies including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, WaterAid, National Express, Sky, Sony, and German educational channel Da Vinci Learning.
As well as high profile national and international projects, Second Home Studios often team up with local companies, such as its promotional work for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s recent production of Don Quixote and its BAFTA nominated film for Town Hall Symphony Hall –
The Mechanical Musical Marvel.
The funding will enable SHSL to renovate its new premises and obtain the equipment and fittings necessary to be able to film the long-term animation series. The series will also generate 16 additional jobs at SHSL.
The funding was provided by MEIF Maven Debt Finance, part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund managed by Maven Capital Partners and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme.
Sajid Sabir, investment manager for Maven, said: “It’s great to have such an innovative and creative business expanding its portfolio and bringing new, exciting opportunities to the region. I have no doubt that Second Home Studio Ltd will continue to evolve and succeed and I am glad Maven can join them on their growth journey.”
Randall said: “Once produced, the upcoming Tweedy & Fluff series will be the first of its kind to come from the city. With so little support around for an expansion of this scale, we’re incredibly grateful to Maven for offering this fund which will make a huge impact on building the studio facility we need.”
