Drama producer Warp Films has become the latest indie to join Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund.
Formed 20 years ago as an offshoot of the influential record label Warp Records, the Sheffield indie is best known for its regular collaborations with Shane Meadows, kicking off with 2004 movie Dead Man's Shoes.
The company, run by former Phoenix Nights producer Mark Herbert and Peter Carlton, has made eight series to date, including Meadows’ This is England trilogy and The Virtues for C4, plus Sky’s The Last Panthers and Little Birds.
It has also made 26 films, including Chris Morris’ Four Lions, Peter Mullan’s Tyrannosaur and Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories.
Chief operating officer Niall Shamma said Warp will use the fund to upscale its drama with a focus on returning series.
“We recognise there is a huge opportunity to grow the company both in terms of the budget size and the quantity of productions,” he says.
“This scaling up requires capital, but we also want a partner that allows us to stay true to our ethos. We want to create a legacy, both in terms of our productions but also in terms of a tangible economic benefit to the region.”
C4’s 25% stake in Warp bolsters a scripted portfolio in the broadcaster’s fund that also includes the likes of Leeds-based Duck Soup Films and Glasgow’s Freedom Scripted.
Earlier this year, IGF head Caroline Murphy said she was looking at slightly larger firms to back than the fund's initial tranche.
She praised Warp’s “outstanding and acclaimed content” and said the company “brings something different to the IGF portfolio and represents a broadening of the scope of the fund".
