Ingenious Ventures has launched its fifth Shelley Media Fund, providing another great opportunity for investment in the fast-growing entertainment sector.
The Fund will invest in HMRC pre-approved EIS companies producing films, television programmes and video games. These media sectors continue to exhibit strong indicators for sustained growth despite wider uncertainty in the macro-economic environment. Ingenious has made this exciting growth sector accessible to a wide market, with a minimum investment amount of just GBP3,000.
Ingenious Ventures anticipates that the Fund will generate tax free returns of 13.7% p.a. (a gross equivalent return of 27.3% p.a. for a 50% taxpayer).
Investors can benefit from the new uplift in EIS income tax relief to 30% against 2011/12 income tax liability. This tax relief limits investor risk, but the clear objective of the fund manager is to further limit risk and maximise potential returns by identifying production opportunities underpinned by attractive minimum revenue streams.
Ingenious is a leading promoter of Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investments and, to date, has raised in excess of GBP280 million of EIS funding and advised more than 150 EIS qualifying media companies. Ingenious has extensive investment experience in the entertainment sector, with over USD10bn under management. It has backed many commercially successful projects including the highest grossing film of all time Avatar and over 390 hours of TV programming for ITV, BBC, SKY and PBS, such as Foyle’s War and Law & Order: UK.
Stephen Fuss, Investment Director at Ingenious Media Investments Limited, said:
“We are very excited to be launching the fifth of our successful Shelley Media Funds, maintaining our focus on capital preservation and the potential to achieve significant returns from commercially viable opportunities in the Entertainment sector.
“The Fund invests in an area in which we have unparalleled expertise and, in a period of continued economic uncertainty, we feel this is a unique alternative investment opportunity uncorrelated to the stock market. Certainly, the anticipated tax free returns of 13.7% p.a. are attractive and achievable, and we are anticipating a large increase in investment this year as a result of these anticipated returns and the uplift in EIS income tax relief to 30%.”
Feature films remain a popular and cheap form of entertainment in times of reduced disposable income and the rapid development and implementation of new distribution platforms and delivery technologies provide the producers of high quality entertainment content with broader revenue generating opportunities. Worldwide revenues from filmed entertainment through theatrical release, video/DVD and digital are anticipated to grow to USD114.8 billion by 2015 from 2010’s level of USD86.2 billion.1
The fund will not solely focus on film – the UK also boasts the largest television market in Europe and total television subscription and licence fees in the UK are forecast to increase from a base of GBP11.9 billion in 2010 at a compound annual rate of approximately 4.2%, reaching GBP14.7 billion in 20151. In addition, the console games market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.4% from USD28.1 billion in 2010 to USD34.8 billion in 2015.
