Sadly it’s been less a case of ‘lights, camera, action’ and more ‘brace for impact’ lately for shareholders in Facilities by ADF (ADF:AIM), the firm which provides on-set serviced production facilities to the UK high-end TV and film industry.

Floated in 2022 with hopes of bringing a touch of Hollywood glamour to the AIM market, the firm soon found itself under the spotlight as a result of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strike which paralysed production schedules.

Even though it took mitigating action by securing shorter-duration domestic productions and cutting the use of agency drivers to reduce costs, the impact of the strikes is still being felt through lower levels of activity.

As a consequence of taking on shorter productions there will be lower levels of ‘add-ons’, which will impact revenue this year, and customers are increasingly cost-conscious which means the market has become more competitive.

To compound matters, a ‘significant number’ of productions the firm had in its sales pipeline for this year have had their start dates pushed out to next year while some have been scrapped altogether.

On a brighter note, the 2025 pipeline has been building steadily since the summer and many in the industry believe there will be a full return to previous activity levels so there may yet be a happy ending to the story. 

‹ Previous2024-12-05Next ›