Pinewood predicts weaker pound will bring Hollywood ending

The pound has been shaken and stirred, and is worth a lot less — but Pinewood Studios has predicted that its role in Britain’s post-Brexit biopic will have a Hollywood ending.

The north London film studio, home to the production of James Bond, said the plunge in the pound after the EU referendum vote will be good for business. Sterling has lost more than 10% of its value against the dollar since June 24.

Pinewood has mostly US customers who will now find its studios considerably cheaper to book. “The decline in the sterling exchange rate is undoubtedly positive for our international customers,” chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said.

His comments come after an-already blockbuster year for Pinewood: the box office success of Bond film Spectre and Star Wars: The Force Awakening helped the studio’s pre-tax profit rise 57% to £7.8 million in the year to April. Revenues jumped 10.9% to £83.2 million.

The profit surge is well-timed, as back in February the AIM-listed Pinewood Group hired Rothschild bankers to launch a “strategic review” — including a possible sale worth as much as £250 million.