Sherlock film studios sold by Welsh government for £10m

A set designer at work - will more big budget films and television shows now be made in Cardiff?

A major film studio which hosted the productions of Havoc for Netflix and Sherlock for the BBC has been sold by the Welsh government for nearly £10m.

Seren Studios near Cardiff has been bought by Great Point Studios which plans to double its capacity.

The US-based company has received a £6m grant from government agency Creative Wales

The Welsh Tories said "huge levels" of support would "raise eyebrows".

However, the Welsh government said it believed the return on the investment would be good for Wales, and the south east of the country in particular.

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Under Welsh government ownership, the site was known as Seren Studios in recent years, and before that as Pinewood Studios.

The government spent £9.5m buying and fitting out the former Energy Centre in Wentloog, between Newport and Cardiff.

After the 2014 purchase, it was estimated ministers were paying about £400,000 to keep it open up to 2018.

The company has big plans for the Cardiff studios

In 2020, Great Point Studios - which also has studios in New York, Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey in the USA - started leasing the site.

The Welsh government's deputy minister for arts, sport and tourism called the company's purchase of the studios a "huge show of confidence" in Wales.

Dawn Bowden added: "From our point of view this is not just throwing money at a speculative venture, this is something we have seen grow and develop because we know the return on the investment will be good for Wales and south east Wales in particular. 

"This is a significant creative industries hub in this part of Wales. This is the third largest creative hub in the UK after Manchester and London.

It is hoped that the studios will become a major financial hub

"This is very much building on what we already have. Of course there may be some skills gaps, but the whole point of anchoring Great Point Studios here, particularly with their new training facility they'll be establishing as part of the development, we will have the skillforce to attract these larger companies."

As part of the expansion project, four state-of-the-art studios will be built and 500 freelance jobs will be created in addition to the current 250 roles.

A training facility will also be created as part of the investment to help build the supply of local skills and talent.

Great Point Studios chief operating officer Peter Von Gal said: "We saw the opportunity based on Cardiff being such a sophisticated media centre with existing infrastructure.

"We also saw a great opportunity to expand on the current stages of the studio there as well as being able to develop, through our association with the University of South Wales, training for both crews and film-makers so we could be supplying the industry we hope to expand."

A season of detective drama Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch was filmed at the studios

He added the aim was to have 750 to 1,000 people on site at any one time, while attracting filmmakers for big screen productions and major feature films.

The proposed expansion will make it Wales' largest film making studio, ahead of Wolf Studios in Cardiff.

During the past few years a number of popular shows have been produced at the site including Sherlock Season 4, A Discovery of Witches and the much anticipated Netflix action thriller, Havoc starring Tom Hardy. 

Welsh Conservative shadow minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport Tom Giffard said: "We should rightly praise the continued interest in Wales by media companies and we should champion inward investment in the sector, but the huge levels of financial support provided and the net loss to the taxpayer made by this sale will raise eyebrows."

Plaid Cymru's culture spokesperson Heledd Fychan said: "With so much funding invested by the public purse in the studios, it is crucial that the Welsh government demonstrates how their investment since 2014 has benefited the economy and how many jobs were created during this time to establish whether value for money to date has achieved."