Calon TV to close

Calon TV, the Welsh animation studio behind children’s series such as Hannah’s Helpline, Fireman Sam and SuperTed, is going into liquidation.

As recently as April this year, the firm said it was still intent on a stock market flotation – plans for which it first revealed to C21 in 2008 – but this has now fallen through.

Calon’s shows, which also include Igam Ogam and Sali Mali, narrated by Hollywood actor Rhys Ifans, have been sold around the globe. The company is more than 25 years old and was formerly owned by Entertainment Rights.

But despite this heritage, Calon said in a statement today that its efforts to raise further funding had come to nothing and that the decision to shut up shop had been taken swiftly to mitigate any losses to its partners.

“The directors of Calon have been in discussions regarding a significant investment to assist the company in its strategy of creating and exploiting intellectual property rights in the children’s television market,” the firm said.

“The investment has not materialised and we have reluctantly taken the decision to initiate a process of voluntary liquidation. We have acted quickly to ensure that losses to suppliers are minimised. We will also do whatever we can to ensure that the value of the company’s assets can be maximised.”