In Focus: The mystery of media investing
The date is getting closer when the BBC will be moving into Salford Quays. It’s clearly a very exciting development and one of immense importance for the whole of the balance of power in the region.
But Peel’s vision is about much more than a relocation and for creative devolution. When John Whittaker opened up to Insider at our round table in April, he was determined that he was creating a new community of media people with creative hubs and wild aspirations for making content in a very special place.
As it stands, there aren’t that many large media businesses in the North of England. Development, growth, jobs and wealth will be started from scratch, alongside the BBC, and sometimes in partnership with it.
The creation of Channel 4 was a decidedly Thatcherite revolution, the station has never made its own programmes but commissioned independent production companies. Over 20 years a number of thrusting entrepreneurs have managed to create businesses with real value. In the North West, the most prominent success has been Phil Redmond, creator of Brookside and Hollyoaks and architect of a deal to bring private equity investor LDC into his business, and then to sell to a consolidating trade buyer, All3Media.
But where are the next generation of North West Redmonds coming from? There is no doubt that good creative work is being done in the region. There is no doubt too that jobs can and will be created.
But the demise of the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the uncertainty of its various promotional agencies – such as Vision+Media – is likely to mean less money for lots of small things.
Like it or not, the emphasis the more the public sector landscape shifts, the more the emphasis is towards private provision of capital and expertise. In order to get funding for their ideas, media creatives will have to adopt much more entrepreneurial habits.
At Insider we’re determined to aid this process and broker some quality conversations. On 21 September, we’re hosting our second Business of Media summit at the Lowry at Salford Quays.
It will provide a forum for a selection of the North West’s most exciting and fast growing media businesses to present their vision to a panel of business experts, all carefully selected for having experience of the very specific hurdles faced by ambitious businesses in the media sector.
There are plenty of professional advisers and wealthy investors who are excited about media, but probably don't understand some of the complex business models and funding structures - and how to create value. This event is designed to smoke out some of the mystery and put good people together.
Comments? Email Michael Taylor, editor, Insider
