Bristol Council has gone back to the drawing board over the future ownership of Bottle Yard Studios after failing to conclude an agreement for the sale of the leasehold on the facility, which has hosted productions including Rivals and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
In October 2024, members of the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee considered a report from officers regarding the options for the future of the studios. They then looked for a buyer for the facility. For the last three months and following an evaluation of the bids received, a preferred bidder was identified, and the council entered a three-month exclusivity period to allow for detailed negotiations and the drawing up of fuller proposals for the potential sale. However, the sale has not gone through.
Whilst further appraisal of options takes place, The Bottle Yard Studios remains fully open for business and continues to support film and TV production in Bristol. The facility, based in Hengrove, is the leading film and TV studio facility in the West of England and is a cornerstone of Bristol’s UNESCO City of Film designation. It was established in 2010 and experiened a decade of steady growth and investment – which included the Studios’ expansion in 2022.
Bristol has developed into one of the most filmed cities in the UK since the opening of the Studios and its close partnership work with the Bristol Film Office ensures that locations across the city regularly feature in primetime TV shows and feature films. Latest figures from Bristol Film Office show that film and High End TV production at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Bristol was worth more than £46m per year to Bristol’s economy last year. This marks a 55% increase in the positive economic impact compared to the previous 12 months
Councillor Tony Dyer, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee at Bristol City Council, said: “I’m grateful to officers who have engaged with and undertaken the detailed process of taking the studios to market and negotiating on a potential sale with bidders. This has been a necessarily lengthy process to ensure all possible factors are considered and that an extensive level of due diligence is carried out throughout. In the absence of an agreement being reached I have asked that officers conduct a further appraisal of the options for maximising the value and benefits of the studios before returning to our committee with further recommendations. We entered into this process with the objective of securing a sustainable future for the studios and the opportunity to grow into its huge potential. Those aims remain the same as does our determination to ensure that one of our city’s most successful regeneration projects continues an upward trajectory to deliver more jobs and more investment for Bristol.”
Councillor Ani Townsend, Co-chair of the Bristol One City Culture Board, said: “Bristol’s film and TV sector forms a critical part of our local economy, providing a catalyst for new jobs, new investment and bolstering our city’s reputation at home and abroad. As someone who works in the stage and screen sector I can say with confidence that a key element of the growth seen in the sector over the past decade and a half has been the role played by The Bottle Yard Studios in providing a home for Bristol-based productions from which companies can access high quality facilities and tap into the broad range of expertise based in the West of England. It’s vital that if we are to continue to see the film and TV sector deliver positive social and economic benefits for Bristol then we must maximise the potential of the studios. I look forward to engaging with officers, partners and fellow councillors in the next steps for the studios.”
Past productions at the Studios include Rivals (Disney+), The Outlaws (BBC One/Amazon Prime Video), A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (BBC Three/Netflix), Malory Towers (CBBC/BYuTV), McDonald & Dodds (ITV), Alex Rider (Amazon FreeVee), Boarders (BBC Three), THE UNDERTAKER starring Paul McGann & Tara Fitzgerald (Susceptor Films), The Killing Kind (Paramount+), Rain Dogs (BBC One/HBO Max), The Flatshare (Paramount+), Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One), Dodger (Universal International Studios/BBC), The Beaker Girls (CBBC), Andy’s Global Adventures (CBBC), Dino Club (Sky Kids), Chloe (BBC One/Amazon), The Girl Before (BBC One/HBO Max), Showtrial (BBC One/HBO Max), The Last Bus (Netflix), The Trial of Christine Keeler (BBC One), HELLBOY (Lionsgate), Poldark (BBC One), Broadchurch (ITV), Wolf Hall (BBC Two), Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (BBC One).
Pippa Considine
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