Gullane Entertainment

Gullane Entertainment PLC was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including Thomas & Friends, Shining Time Station, The Magic Adventures of Mumfie, Fireman Sam, Captain Pugwash, Sooty and Art Attack, as well as the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Gullane Entertainment PLC
Formerly
  • Burginhall 126 Limited (1987)
  • The Britt Allcroft Company PLC (1987-2000)
[1]
TypeIn-credit-only unit
IndustryEntertainment, Children's Programming
FateAcquired by and folded into HIT Entertainment, Still active as IP holder for Thomas & Friends.
SuccessorHIT Entertainment
Founded1987 (1987)[lower-alpha 1] [2]
Defunct2003 (2003)[lower-alpha 2]
ProductsThomas & Friends
Art Attack
Sooty
Fireman Sam
Guinness World Records
Captain Pugwash
Magic Adventures of Mumfie
James the Cat
RevenueN.A.
DivisionsGullane Children's Books Limited
Gullane (Development) Limited
Gullane (Licensing) Limited
Gullane (Thomas) Limited
The Magic Railroad Company Limited
SubsidiariesBridgefilms (joint-venture with Sooty International)
Guinness World Records Limited
The Media Merchants
Prism Art & Design Limited (Joint-venture with S4C International)
Sooty Limited

History

The Britt Allcroft Company

In June 1997, the company announced they had purchased the rights to Captain Pugwash and would produce a new television series featuring the character.[3]

In December 1999, The Britt Allcroft Company announced they had acquired a 50% stake on Sooty from then-owner from Sooty International Limited, forming a joint-venture company called Bridgefilms (also known as Sooty Limited), which would also handle licensing rights to existing Britt Allcroft creation Mumfie.[4][5]

In March 2000, HIT Entertainment offered a $363 million bid to purchase the company,[6] alongside other interested companies.[7] In the same month, the company announced they had purchased The Media Merchants for £14 million, bringing Art Attack to their list of IPs.[8]

Gullane Entertainment

In September 2000, with negative reception and box-office disappointment of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Britt Allcroft stepped down as the company's CEO, and under new leadership, the company announced they would rebrand as Gullane Entertainment in order to expand and export their brands worldwide. [9] Britt Allcroft would however remain as a creative consultant for the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise.[10]

In January 2001, Gullane announced they had purchased the book franchises Zippy Dinosaurs and Vroom Vroom for £1.1 Million.[11]

In July 2001, Gullane purchased Guinness World Records for £45.5 Million from their original owners Diageo, although Gullane would continue to license the Guinness brand name from Diageo.[12]

In December 2001, Gullane purchased a majority stake in Fireman Sam from S4C International for £16 Million, with both companies agreeing to produce a new season of 26 episodes and to remaster the previous 4 seasons.[13]

In July 2002, HIT Entertainment agreed to purchase Gullane when no white knight could be found for the company.[14]

In January 2003, Britt Allcroft announced she had resigned as a board director at HIT Entertainment in order to focus her work on her new company Britt Allcroft Productions.[15]

After the Purchase

As of 2020, many of Gullane's IP's still remain under the ownership of HIT Entertainment. The "Gullane (Thomas) Limited" subsidiary remains as the IP name holder for the Thomas & Friends franchise.

In October 2007, HIT put the rights to both Mumfie and Sooty up for sale.[16] Britt Allcroft reacquired Magic Adventures of Mumfie in March 2008,[17] while Richard Cadell would purchase the Sooty franchise and brand in June 2008.[18]

In February 2008, HIT sold the Guinness World Records brand and franchise to Ripley Entertainment.[19]

Programming

Other Assets

Films

Key People
  • Britt Allcroft - Co Founder
  • Angus Wright - Co Founder
  • Adam Mills - Chairman of the Board
  • William Harris - Chief Executive Officer, Director
  • Charles Falzon - President, Director
  • Tim Hilton - Finance Director, Director
  • Helen Byme - Secretary

References
  1. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02120124
  2. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02120124
  3. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/pugwash-to-sail-again-1.85551
  4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/573833.stm
  5. https://kidscreen.com/2000/02/01/27978-20000201/
  6. https://variety.com/2000/biz/news/hit-offering-363-mil-for-britt-allcroft-1117776012/
  7. https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5631012.all-chuffed-by-thomas-talks/
  8. https://variety.com/2000/biz/news/britt-allcroft-to-buy-media-1117779535/
  9. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/sep/08/2
  10. https://www.animationmagazine.net/people/allcroft-leaves-hit/
  11. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jan/29/broadcasting.citynews
  12. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gullane-buys-guinness-book-of-records-1.388878
  13. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/gullane-to-pay-16m-for-half-the-rights-to-fireman-sam-9273971.html
  14. Cassy, John (6 July 2002). "Gullane gives in to Barney bid". Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  15. https://www.animationmagazine.net/people/allcroft-leaves-hit/
  16. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/04/business.citynews
  17. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080319005260/en/Childrens-Television-Pioneer-Britt-Allcroft-Reacquires-Mumfie
  18. Langsworthy, Billy (14 January 2014). "Richard Cadell on saving Sooty, brand longevity and stage shows". Licensing.biz. NewBay Media. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  19. Allen, Katie (14 February 2008). "Guinness world records brand sold to Ripley's for £60m". Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2013.

Notes
  1. The predecessor company, Britt Allcroft Railway Limited, or Britt Allcroft Limited, was founded in 1979. This company is now known as Gullane (Thomas) Limited)
  2. Companieshouse still lists the company as "active" with a list of subsidiaries.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.