Jun 20, 2017

British Blue Zoo, China's Zhong Ze partner up for a newア92 million animation company.

Blue Zoo Animation Studio, a London-based cg animation company founded in 2000 by Adam Shaw, Tom Box and Oli Hyatt, announced today that it will receive approximately USド3,800 million (£3,000 million) in funding from China UK Animation Company (CU Animation), a subsidiary of China's state-run Zhong Ze Culture Investment Group. The deal, which includes additional guarantees beyond the initial investment, is one of the most important deals for independent TV animation studios in recent memory.

The multi-BAFTA-winning Blue Zoo, with more than 130 employees, featured the company's Christmas-themed short stories at Cartoon Brew last winter, primarily Nick Jr.'s Digby Dragon, CBeebies Tree Hootom, and the Adventures of Dutch broadcaster KRO's Miffy.

The two companies will launch a new joint venture called Lanzu, which will initially provide non-exclusive funding for the development and production of at least 5 new projects over the next 6 years, including animated feature films. Zhong Ze has guaranteed a total of 991 million (£72 million) for these co-owned projects, the first of which will go into production later this year.

Lanzu will also help speed up the delivery of Blue Zoo's current and future productions and co-productions. The two companies say the investment will not only accelerate the speed at which the Blue Zoo project goes into production after being green-lit, but also give the studio greater access to the international market, more specifically the Chinese market.

"CU Animation Investment Holdings Ltd.Partnership with. For Blue Zoo comes a time of incredibly exciting growth," Studio co-founder Ori Hyatt said in a statement. "Lanzu will allow us to jointly hold and develop IP while generating growth in the Eastern and global markets. In partnering with Blue Zoo, CU Animation has invested in the talented staff we nurture, our growing business and our dreams for the future."

It should be noted that Hyatt has also established Animation UK, a group that promotes tax credits and incentives to support the animation industry and lobbied the UK government on behalf of Animation and vfx studios.

"This is great news for the UK animation industry," said Mark Garnier, Minister for International Trade at the UK's Department of International Trade. "This new contract further strengthens our position as a global leader in animation production. The Department of International Trade will continue to provide support and advice to companies like Blue Zoo. We want to attract inward investment to help them and others achieve their growth ambitions and reach new markets.

and Gina Fegan, Cultural Director of CU Animation and Zhong Ze Culture Investment Holdings: "Blue Zoo stands out in terms of creativity, company spirit, and commercial insight. We are pleased to partner with them to support Lanzu and Blue Zoo's international growth and enable and accelerate IP development and content production.”