Dexter helms new UK prodco

The co-financiers of CBeebies series Messy Goes to Okido have formed a production division in London, with the founder of UK distributor Cake Entertainment, Genevieve Dexter, set to take the reins.

Eye/Present is a joint venture between London-based production outfit Squint/Opera and consultancy Serious Lunch, which was launched by Dexter following the sale of her majority shareholding in Cake Entertainment in 2010.

The new company will develop, animate, produce and coproduce family entertainment IP, with Dexter serving as a director in addition to her role as CEO of Serious Lunch.

Squint/Opera and Serious Lunch recently collaborated to finance the £4.5m (US$7.3m) preschool toon Messy Goes to Okido, which will debut on CBeebies in the UK next spring.

Squint/Opera’s CEO Jules Coke and Dexter are joint executive producers of the series, which is being launched by Canada’s DHX Media at Mip Junior in Cannes this weekend.

Coke said: “Now is the perfect time for us to add to the small number of London CG animation studios, building on the wealth of creative talent in the city and growth in opportunities driven by the UK tax credit.

“Our philosophy of producing the entire pipeline in-house, combined with our customised software, allow us to achieve the highest quality whilst remaining competitive internationally.”