Acquisition of Films of Recor

RNS Number : 3955A

Ten Alps PLC

01 August 2008

 



Press Release                             1 August 2008

Ten Alps PLC

'Ten Alps' or 'The Company'

Acquisition of Films of Record

Ten Alps PLC, the factual media company, has acquired TV production company Films of Record.

The deal adds impact to Ten Alps in TV and online TV - key elements in its multi-platform approach to clients and audiences.

Films of Record, founded in 1979 by Roger Graef. OBE, is producer of some of the best-known observational documentaries in British television history.

Renowned projects include: Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, Welcome to Potters Bar, Murder Blues, Breaking the Cycle, My Heart Belongs to Dad, The Protectors and Who Killed PC Blakelock ?

Films of Record brings very strong current productions, including:

* Online series Web Lives for itv.com

* A major BBC observational series in the health sector

* A BBC series titled After the Break, looking at families and Family Courts 

* An ITV documentary on the planning crisis, Planning Wars

* A Channel 4 film for Cutting Edge: The 9-11 Faker 

* A major international co-production, The Burning Season, on saving the rain forests

There are also good projects in development, and others in online TV, a market in which Ten Alps already has success through Teachers TV and Kent TV.

Films of Record's team, including Jane Bevan and Nick Poyntz, immediately join Ten Alps' two existing TV brands, Brook Lapping and Blakeway, in their Kentish Town production offices - creating one of the world's leading independent documentary operations. All three brands maintain their identity and integrity but share facilities.

Alex Connock, CEO of Ten Alps, said:

'Films of Record make important, high-quality television and new media, and we are delighted they are joining us. They have a skill for accessing ground-breaking stories, and considerable online TV acumen.'

'We stayed out of the TV acquisitions market whilst it was inflated from 2004-7, and now we are in again. We aim to grow TV alongside print and online - since in the age of the iPlayer and proven mass demand for online TV, customers want their projects multi-platform.'

Roger Graef, founder and CEO of Films of Record, said:

'We are delighted to be joining Ten Alps at this crucial time in the evolution of public service television. We have been expanding over the years bringing our experience of discreet access filming to areas such as current affairs, science, business, the arts and recent history - most recently Was Crippen Innocent? for Five, PBS and the History Channel.  

'Joining Ten Alps will give us the breadth of support to sustain and build on our online TV expansion. I am also confident that my new colleagues share the same values that Films of Record has stood for over the last thirty years. That was a crucial part of our decision to join them.'

www.tenalps.com

Media enquiries:

Pelham, Financial PR
Alex Walters/Hugh Barker	Tel: [phone]
	www.pelhampr.com
Collins Stewart
Chris Wells, Mark Connelly	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

Films of Records

Films of Record's best-known productions have included:

* Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (BBC4), a multi award winning 100 minute film by Kim Longinotto inside the Mulberry Bush School in Oxfordshire, dealing with some of the most troubled children in Britain

* Dispatches, Searching for Madeleine, (Channel 4 9pm), highly praised film by Jane Eames taking UK experts to Portugal to test the evidence in this tragic case 

*  Welcome to Potters Bar and Potters Bar: Search for the Truth (BBC1 9pm) highly praised hour long films by Jane Sayers shot over three years following the British Transport Police investigation into the causes of the train crash and the impact on the victims.

* Murder Blues 3 x 60mins (BBC1 9pm)

Highly praised observational series following a year of the work of the elite Metropolitan police teams tackling black-on-black gun crime. 

* Breaking the Cycle (ITV), a film by Roger Graef following an unusual course for children aged 3-5 expelled from infants' school. 

* In Search of Law and Order (Channel 4/PBS), two series of 3 x 1hr by Roger Graef about positive ways to deal with young offenders that influenced the setting up of the National Youth Justice Board.

* Remember 'The Secret Policeman's Ball'? 1 x 75mins Celebration film by Margy Kinmonth of the 25th anniversary of this cult comedy made by Roger Graef and Tom Schwalm with John Cleese; starring Alan Bennett, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Lenny Henry et al.

* My Heart Belongs To Dad (BBC2 9pm), a touching documentary by Nick Poyntz about single fathers struggling to bring up their children

* The Protectors (BBC1 9pm), highly praised films by Nick Poyntz with unusual access to follow the management of sex offenders when they leave prison.

* Rail Cops and Girl Cops (BBC1) three series of popular access films to the British Transport Police and the women officers of Greater Manchester Police, which drew large audiences for observational documentaries.  

* Who Killed PC Blakelock? (BBC2 9pm), a poignant ninety minute film by Jonathan Jones retelling of the 1985 Tottenham riot and the tragic events surrounding it.

The following is a more full list of Films of Record's past programmes (see www.filmsofrecord.com/productions for a complete list):

Malaria: Fever Road (BBC2/4/PBS co-production), an award winning series by Kevin Hull following the efforts to create a vaccine against malaria over three years.

Web Lives (ITV.com)

The UK's first ever online docu-soap, focussing on the bizarre and brilliant ways that the internet shapes our lives.

This World, Property to Die For (BBC2), a film by Chris Mitchell revealing the violence and anarchy in the Moscow property market

Malaria (BBC 2 & 4) 2 x 90 mins (PBS) 1 x 120mins

WINNER, Best Documentary. One World Broadcasting Awards

Filmed across three continents. 

Fever Road is an intimate portrait of life in a Kenyan village during a Malaria outbreak.  The film charts the lengths to which the chief will go to protect his people.

The Vaccine Challenge puts the disease into a global perspective, following both scientists and politicians in their fight against the inertia surrounding the crisis.

This World: Race For The Beach (BBC2/SBS) 1 x 40/60 mins

Observational doc following the recruitment process of Lebanese Lifeguards by the century old all white Australian Lifeguards Association. It is their attempt to promote integration after the race riots on the beach.

 Panorama: When Cops Kill (BBC1) 1 x 40

New research reveals what happens in the brain of a firearms officer when faced with a life or death situation.

Dying For The Truth (ONE LIFE for BBC1) 1 x 30

Investigating the level of care received by patients in Britain's nursing homes

House Of Crime (BBC3) 3 X 60mins

The first prison series to focus on the staff set in Birmingham prison

I'm The Daddy (One Life for BBC1) 1 x 40/60

Ian Mucklejohn is the first single man in Britain to have created his own children without a female partner

Panorama: Rape On Trial (BBC1)1 x 40

Examining how the authorities have changed the way they deal with rape victims since A Complaint of Rape was shown in 1982

What Killed My Dad? (Real Story for BBC) 1 x 40

Powerful undercover film by Angie Mason exposing inaccurate death certificates on the NHS that hide the incidence of MRSA

Chinatown (BBC2) 3 X 60mins,

Dynastic saga featuring Britain's invisible minority - the Chinese - at a moment of transition and transformation.

 .

Panorama: What Future For Kurt? (Panorama for BBC1) 1 x 40mins

Documentary observing the inequalities of the postcode lottery - looks at the life chances of a seven year old child on a rough council estate as compared to those on an adjoining estate in the prosperous South of England.

This World: Property To Die For (BBC 2) 1 x 60mins

A story of life and death on the Moscow property market where the civil law and corruption erodes any sense of security.

This World: Blood And Land (BBC 2) 1 x 60mins

A portrayal of the bloody fight for land in South Africa, 10 years after the end of Apartheid.

Who Killed My Child? The Shaken Baby Mystery (Ch4) 1 x 60 min

(Films of Record Ltd/Pillarbox Productions)

Following both sides of an appeal case against a shaken baby conviction using a new scientific theory that has shaken medical and judicial confidence.

Turning the Screws 3 x 60 mins (Channel 4) Highly praised obdoc series by Roger Graef inside Wandsworth prison filmed over a year following both sides of an industrial dispute that almost led to a strike by prison officers.

The Secrets Of The Iraq War (ITV) 1 x 60mins     A special report by Ed Harriman on stories nobody told about the lead up to the Iraq war. Tx 10 Jan 2004

Worlds Apart (BBC1) 1 x 40 mins  Rich and poor families living across from each other. Tx 24 July 2003.

 About Ten Alps 

 Ten Alps Plc is a factual media company - on TV, online and in print.  

As a multi-platform producer, it engages with audiences and customers across all media outlets.

Ten Alps has market-leading positions in all its three key areas of output:  

• On TV it produces for Dispatches, Panorama and other key factual programmes for Channel 4, the BBC and international broadcasters. One of its companies is preferred supplier for a major five-year government contract to operate the Teachers TV channel.  

• Online it produces Kent TV, the first fully local authority-funded broadband TV service in the UK, alongside B2B websites and online TV projects, such as the forthcoming Vets TV. It also produces online TV advertising. 

• In Print it is one of the UK's largest contract and specialist publishers, with a growing portfolio of 740 titles across specialist media sectors including finance, environment, public sector and international trade. 

Ten Alps was founded in 1999 by Alex Connock and Bob Geldof.

It has over 650 staff with main offices in London and Manchester, and smaller offices in Dublin, Edinburgh and Gateshead.

Ten Alps has had seven consecutive years of growth since listing on AiM in 2001, with turnover rising from £2m to £81.4m in the financial year to March 31 2008.

During that period, seventeen acquisitions have been made: in factual TV (including leading producers Brook Lapping and Blakeway), online (video advertising producer MMA, CSR specialists DBDA ) and in print (McMillan Scott, Mongoose, Atalink, Camerons, Sovereign - all of which now have substantial online portfolios.) Only one equity funding has been made since 2001.

 

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