Civilian to rein in risky funding

CIVILIAN Content, the film and television company that was given £33.5m of Lottery money to invest, lost £5.2m last year and has decided to rein in future high-risk funding of films.

After former Channel 5 boss David Elstein replaced Richard Thompson as chairman last year and Chris Auty became managing director, they decided to pare the company back to focus on film financing and distribution.

This decision is highlighted by the contrast between Civilian's own production 51st State, the Lottery-financed thriller, which grossed £3.7m at the UK box office against Bend It Like Beckham, where Civilian is handling international sales and which has taken more than £10m in the UK.

Elstein said Civilian had quickly moved to reduce its cost base and had created 'the basis for profitable operations'. Pre-tax loses were up from £1.9m to £5.2m after £3.6m of exceptional charges. Turnover rose from £1.1m to £10.3m.