Losses on Welsh Government TV and film investments 'worrying'

The track record of a Welsh Government film and TV investment scheme is "deeply worrying", the Welsh Conservatives have said.

Ministers have invested over £15m through the scheme formerly run by Pinewood. Cash has been fully recouped on only one of the 15 projects.

Not all projects have been released, with losses standing at around £9m.

Getting a return was not the "prime objective" of the fund, the Welsh Government said.

A spokeswoman said money was still coming in from the "majority" of projects and had injected a total of £25m into Wales' economy.

The fund was part of a project established with Pinewood in 2012 to boost the creative sector in Wales.

The studio managed the fund and separately opened a studio on a site near Cardiff. Pinewood left the management of the investment scheme in 2017, and is pulling out of the studio in March.

Figures published through the assembly's Public Accounts Committee show that of the investments made when Pinewood managed the fund, only one had recouped the cash invested by last November.

It said £15.1m had been invested through the budget, including £962,000 in grants. It lists a net loss for the government to date of £9.6m, with £5.5m recouped, although that stands at just over £8.5m once grants are deducted.

The Welsh Government now says that £5.6m had been recouped.

Their Finest is one of the few projects to have so far recouped its loan in full and make a profit

In 2017 BBC Wales revealed that action film Take Down, which was produced by Pinewood, was given £3.14m.

It has recouped £1.1m, making an overall loss as of November 2019 of £2m.

Their Finest, a BBC Films' British war comedy, has made a net gain for the taxpayer of £50,000 with £2.05m recouped on an investment of £2m.

The figures show:

• BBC Worldwide/Amazon Prime drama The Collection received investment of £1.15m and a grant of £600,000 - ministers have recouped £250,000

• Comedy film Show Dogs received £1.2m investment and £362,000 in grant cash. The film has grossed $39m worldwide according to IMDBpro, but the Welsh Government had recouped nothing by last November

• £850,000 was given to World War 1 drama Journey's End - £631,000 has been recouped since the release in 2018

• Don't Knock Twice received £630,000 and had recouped £612,000

• Small investments were made in Minotaur and Lionel the First of £26k and £25k respectfully. Neither production has recouped funds

Overall £9.9m was invested in projects under Pinewood management, with a net loss to November of about £4.4m once grants are deducted.

Asked about the performance of Show Dogs, the Welsh Government said: "Box office figures do not equate with the profit of a film - as it does not take account of the share kept by the theatres, sales agents and others.

"With regards to Show Dogs, the amount collected is yet to reach a figure where the Welsh Government has seen any recoupment."

Take Down received a £3m loan from the Welsh Government

The Welsh Government continued to make investments under the fund after Pinewood left its management.

They include:

• £2m for animated feature Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires

• £1.05m for 2019 movie Eternal Beauty

• £350,000 for Welsh-language TV drama Bang

• £622,000 for CBBC show Almost Never

• £750,000 for upcoming war drama Six Minutes to Midnight, and £25,000 for Goose Green

Of those projects, only Eternal Beauty had recouped money by November - £770,000.

Of those, the Welsh Government said Trampires is looking for a release in the next 18 months. £318,000 was also given to Tiny Rebel Games. Goose Green, understood to be a war film about the Falklands War, is in development.

'Furious'

Welsh Conservative culture spokesman, David Melding, said: "The creative industries in Wales should be furious that their funding is spent so carelessly.

"These schemes work by becoming self-financing. Returns on investment and repayment of loans provide for future support of the creative industries.

"While some 'misses' have to be accepted in any innovative approach to investment, this level of failure is deeply worrying".

Helen Mary Jones, Plaid Cymru economy spokeswoman said: "This raises serious concerns about Labour's ability - or inability, to deliver on crucial investment projects in Wales."

The Welsh Government investments were made on a commercial basis, where it gets money back with attached premiums and or profit shares.

'Not prime objective'

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "The media investment budget was introduced to grow and support the production sector in Wales, return on the production itself was not the prime objective of the fund. The overall media investment budget stands at £15.106m, and the amount recouped to date is £5.6m.

"This investment has in turn generated a total Welsh spend of £25.112m.

"Receipts on the media investment budget continue to be received by Welsh Government and with some productions yet to be released, any profit is yet to be determined.

"It is expected that recoupment on productions is a process that will continue for a number of years after the initial release."

Pinewood declined to comment.