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Jim Henson's London arm shuts up shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the London-based visual effects and animatronics division, has been shut down with the loss of over 20 jobs. The Hollywood-based parent firm blamed the weak US dollar and the UK production environment. Staff at the Camden-based division were notified of the closure at the end of last week. The firm said that it would no longer require full-time staff at its London base. A statement from the Henson's US HQ said that its TV and film projects would not be affected and that the Creature Shop would continue to service third-party clients out of its LA and New York locations, as well as hiring crews in London on a project-by-project basis. Peter Schube, president and coo of The Henson Company, said that the dollar's unfavorable exchange rate and the lack of any concrete tax incentives in the UK production market had led to the closure. "Jim Henson's Creature Shop in London was founded on the highest standards of innovation and creativity, launching our worldwide facilities with those principles in mind. We are grateful to the UK film industry for its important place in our company's history and we are confident that it will remain a significant production centre for us,” he said. Rumours of the London closure have been in circulation for a while, reaching a head in June when the firm served a 30-day notice. Most recently the London subsidiary was involved in the production of Frances, a preschool project in partnership with Hit Entertainment. It has also worked on feature films such as Five Children & It. In 2003, German-based kids outfit EM.TV sold its 100% stake in Jim Henson Company to the family of the late Jim Henson in a deal worth around $89m. The sale saw all five Henson family members joining the JHC board, but only Jim's son Brian and daughter Lisa are actively involved in the company's management. JHC's remaining units are Henson TV, Jim Henson Pictures, Jim Henson Interactive, Jim Henson Home Entertainment and Henson Recording Studios. Programme assets include The Muppets, The Muppet Babies, The Fraggles, The Hoobs and Farscape. Jules Grant 6 Jul 2005 © C21 Media 2005 
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