Warner Bros. Opens U.K. Studio in Leavesden

LEAVESDEN: Warner Bros. has opened a new film and TV studio in Leavesden, the first of its kind to be built in the U.K. in 70 years, the company said.

The £100 million ($154.6 million) facility, dubbed Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, is based just outside of Watford, Hertfordshire. It is the only film studio in the country to be owned and operated by a major Hollywood studio. Not only will it work on Warner Bros. projects, the facility will also be available for commercials, music videos, TV shows and feature films for third parties. The site is formerly the production home of all eight Harry Potter films. Warner Bros. has also filmed Sherlock Holmes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wrath of the Titans, among other projects, at Leavesden.

Josh Berger, the president and managing director of Warner Bros. U.K., Ireland and Spain, said: “Alongside a growing U.K. film, TV and games production slate, the opening of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to the U.K. and underlines our belief in the world-class talent that resides on these shores. As well as helping to generate inward investment and create new jobs both locally and nationally, this significant infrastructure outlay—probably the single biggest the U.K. film industry has witnessed in decades—will further amplify the U.K.’s reputation as the go-to place for film and TV production.”

Roy Button OBE, the executive VP and managing director at Warner Bros. Productions, which is based at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, added: “As the levels of studio-based production in the U.K. have risen in recent years, so too has our own U.K. production output. Back in 2000, we produced just one movie here in the U.K., last year it was seven, so by adding this important resource to the U.K.’s studio landscape we are helping to meet not just our own production needs, but those of the wider thriving British film industry.”

Dan Dark, the senior VP and managing director for Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, commented: “Drawing on Warner Bros.’ unparalleled studio-operating experience, we have spent the last 18 months building a state-of-the-art facility that will provide clients with a highly functional and contemporary environment within which to film. The feedback we’ve already received from the production community has been overwhelmingly positive.”