Jobs created as animation business gears up for launch
A £1.2m animation business venture that is expected to create 20 new jobs is gearing up to launch.
The brainchild of accountant Anthony Hall, who is based near Goole, the Antyx venture plans to launch this month with the backing of private investors under the HMRC’s Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Antyx will unveil ‘The Learning Monster Project’, an interactive online learning experience for young children, later in 2013 and is also working on other initiatives including a cartoon series and a feature length animated film.
GrowthAccelerator business experts and Leeds law firm Clarion have worked with the start-up company to prepare it for launch.
With access to finance support from GrowthAccelerator, Antyx has been advised on its corporate structure and business plan, particularly from a tax perspective.
In addition, IP lawyers from Clarion have completed an audit to ensure that the intellectual property rights of the new company are protected.
Antyx’s initial offering will be ‘The Learning Monster Project’, a virtual world for children, which aims to combine the fun and interactivity of a modern social gaming hub with educational benefits.
It is also developing a cartoon series called ‘Fantums’ which will be delivered direct to the customer’s computer; and an animated feature film called ‘Phobes’.
The company is forecast to generate a turnover of £1.9m in its first year, rising to £11.3m by year three.
Antyx director Hall expects the business to create 20 jobs initially, equally split between its offices in Leeds and North Lincolnshire as well as generating significant work for sub-contractors which it plans to source locally.
More than £500,000 has been budgeted for the build and marketing of the virtual world, plus a significant budget for its on going management and development, and Hall is looking for ‘the best digital design company in the region to deliver it’.
“Yorkshire has a lot of talented animators and gaming companies, but they tend to work on a fairly small scale from home. As the first business to create and own the IP of its characters and games, we will be investing significant sums with local suppliers and we hope that this will help Yorkshire to become a hub of animation,” said Hall.
“GrowthAccelerator is perfect for small companies like us which need support in order to fulfil our potential to grow. As well as working with a business coach on wider aspects of our business strategy, membership has enabled us to benefit from specialist corporate tax advice from Grant Thornton and GrowthAccelerator to ensure that the company is structured in the best way and that, as a start-up, we benefit from the various Government incentives available.”
