Hat Trick, Shed in takeover talks

After their City buy-in last July, bosses at UK indie Hat Trick hinted at a more adventurous buy-and-build strategy: now the company is poised to buy drama indie Shed Productions.

In what is thought to be a £20m takeover, Hat Trick and Footballers’ Wives producer Shed are understood to be finalizing a deal to combine their businesses to create a £80m company that will have an estimated annual revenue of £35m.

Shed producer and co-founder Brian Park this afternoon confirmed to C21 that the talks are underway but said that press reports of a done-deal “were jumping the gun a little”. Park, alongside three ex-Granada colleagues Eileen Gallagher, Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick, set up Shed in 1998 to make ITV1 drama Bad Girls.

With Bad Girls now in its sixth season and Footballers’ Wives in its third, Shed has a turnover of £14m and in the financial year to August 2003 made pre-tax profits of £1.3m. Hat Trick currently makes about £4m profit on annual revenues of £20m.

The takeover, if it goes ahead, will consolidate Hat Trick’s recent steps into drama production, which over the past year has been led by head of drama Mark Redhead.

Shows that Redhead has taken into production include Jed Mercurio’s NHS drama Bodies (6×60′) and In Denial of Murder (2×90′), a dramatisation of the Stephen Downing false imprisonment case. Both are destined for the BBC.

After the sale of a 45% stake in the company to City investors Kleinwort Capital for £23m last July, Hat Trick joint md Denise O’Donoghue told C21: “The deal will allow us to be more adventurous in our buy-and-build strategy. We’ll also be able to set up more joint-ventures. There’s no grand plan but the sale will allow us to continue in directions we are already going.”

Have I Got News For You producer Hat Trick already has a 50% stake in 12 Yard Productions, a format house set up with ex-BBC light entertainment boss David Young. Like Hat Trick and The Kumars, 12 Yard is now breaking into the US market, with The Benefactor for ABC.

Another jv called Gasp has been set up with Goodness Gracious Me comedy writing trio, Anil Gupta, Sharat Sardana and Richard Pinto. Hat Trick is also making a move into animation with the 13-part Channel 4 toon sitcom Streatham Hill.