Financing Independent Content

A man with a top hat and a microphone, a still from the movie The King's Speech.

About

Foundry Media was launched in 2024 as a joint venture between established content specialists Foresight Media and Enriched Media. Via its three London-based subsidiaries, Foundry provides finance and production services for producing partners across the UK, North America and other international territories.

Foundry’s management team has invested over $600m in award-winning and commercially successful content for multiple distribution channels over the last two decades, and delivers single source financing to independent producers.

INVESTED $0M+

Working with Foundry

Foundry is synonymous with strong, secured returns and long term value for its investors, working with selective producers to help develop and create content for TV, cable, streamers, theatre and exhibition.

With a comprehensive understanding of producer needs, Foundry provides support through three primary sources:

01.

STORYWORKS

Development, including finance, for UK-based projects with leading international producers, as well as subsequent support and management of marketing and distribution. Storyworks benefits from SEIS and EIS UK tax relief.

02.

Financeworks

Permanent production finance, lending against pre-sales, streamer contracts, tax credits and other sources of collateral. With streamlined processes and sensible legal costs, Financeworks offers a competitive and cultural alternative to media banks, with a percentage of ‘gap’ against unsold territories on selective projects.

03.

Bridgeworks

Availability, when required, of secured short term lending against the financial close of full financing for content. Bridgeworks enables fast turnaround closings to provide sensible solutions for producers.

Foundry Team

Foundry’s management team has extensive experience in all areas of the filmed content industries, including development, production, financing, sales, distribution and marketing, with more than 500 projects successfully delivered over the past 20 years.

key management

Philip Burgin

Philip Burgin joined financial services powerhouse and publicly listed company JTC plc in 1995 having previously worked at Morgan Stanley in London. Philip was a founding director of the Aegis Film Fund where he helped finance a significant number of well-known projects including the Oscar-winning THE KING’S SPEECH. He has invested recently into the major West End stage hits MAGIC MIKE LIVE and DEAR EVAN HANSON.

Tim Smith

Tim Smith has worked within the entertainment industries since the 1990s, ranging from Twentieth Century Fox to Walt Disney. From 2002 onwards, he has worked mainly within film and TV production and financing sector, helping to develop and make over 70 projects including WOLF HALL, THE KING’S SPEECH and CHEF. Tim was joint founder of Prescience Film Finance, Hindsight Media and, with Phil Burgin, the Aegis Film Fund.

Neena Tailor

Neena Tailor has a decade of experience in film and games financing, production, sales and distribution. As finance director for Hindsight Media Group, she had a key involvement in the statutory and financial management, planning, control and reporting for many projects, including A STREET CAT NAMED BOB, CROOKED HOUSE, PATRICK, FISHERMEN’S FRIENDS and THE POST CARD KILLINGS. Her expertise includes tax credit claims, notably for the Games EIS of PLANET OF THE APES. Neena has coordinated film financing structures, facilitated film closings and worked directly with US production teams on set for tax compliance.

Martin McCabe

Martin McCabe is one of the UK’s most experienced and innovative executives in the field of independent film and TV distribution, production & acquisitions. During his 30 plus years in the business he has also advised on film strategy for clients including Sky, Ogilvy, BP, EMI, Virgin TV, Disney and the European Space Agency. He is the Executive Producer on numerous films including the multi-award-winning FIRST REFORMED starring Ethan Hawke, THE CARD COUNTER and ESCAPE FROM PRETORIA.

Tom Harberd

Tom Harberd has been involved in financing over 350 feature films, including BLACK MASS, FREEHELD, CARGO, WAR ON EVERYONE, MARY SHELLEY, THE FORGIVEN, TAR, ORDINARY LOVE, MINAMATA and MADE IN DAGENHAM, as well as numerous television series and video games. For eight years, Tom jointly held the positions of COO at Head Gear Films, and CFO at Bankside Films; before that, he represented the Qatar Foundation on its film and media interests, and worked as a Producer and Assistant Director on broadcast commercials.

Mick Southworth

Mick Southworth is the founding MD of Film Four Distributors and the Feature Film Company with more than 30 years of experience in UK film distribution and acquisitions, having released films such as THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, BRASSED OFF and MAN ON WIRE He is the Executive Producer on ESCAPE FROM PRETORIA and THE CARD COUNTER.