C4 Creative Investment Fund Acquires Firecrest

Via its newly launched Creative Investment Fund (CIF), Channel 4 has acquired the Scottish independent Firecrest Films.

This is the first majority investment for the new fund, unveiled in May of this year as part of Channel 4’s overall Fast Forward strategy to future-proof the organization and drive its IP ownership positioning. Channel 4 previously had a minority investment in Firecrest via its Indie Growth Fund, which preceded the CIF.

The outfit will continue to be run by its founders, Nicole Kleeman, managing director, and Iain Scollay, creative director, with a commitment to premium documentaries and factual, The award-winning company’s credits include Murder Trial, Murder Case, Paramedics on Scene, Michael Palin: Travels of A Lifetime, Liar: The Fake Grooming Scandal and Dispatches: The Truth About Nike and Adidas. The company recently secured a six-project deal with Prime Video.

The investment was negotiated by Caroline Murphy, who has led the Indie Growth Fund since she joined Channel 4 in 2019.

“We are incredibly proud of the hugely successful business and team we have built in Govan,” Kleeman said. “Over the last eight years, our partnership with Channel 4 has taken us from a small regional indie to one of the U.K.’s most significant documentary producers. This new relationship with Channel 4 will give us the security to futureproof the business and continue to grow talent and tell stories.”

Jonathan Allan, Interim CEO of Channel 4, added: “We have supported Nicole & Iain in their outstanding Scottish indie with their high-quality and critically acclaimed factual content for the last eight years. So I’m delighted that Channel 4 is now able to develop this important relationship with Firecrest Films through the first acquisition from the Creative Investment Fund, supporting our new strategy to invest in and own IP. This strategy will enable us to diversify revenues and secure Channel 4’s long-term sustainability through generating new income streams that are not wholly reliant on the advertising market. In turn, we can then invest more into the independent sector and British storytelling.”