Fleur Capital partners Base Media Group to launch the world’s first film financing fund through Singapore’s new VCC structure
Fleur Capital (Fleur) has announced the launch of the Base Media Singapore VCC (BMS VCC) based on Singapore’s new fund structure called Variable Capital Company (VCC).
Its first sub-fund, Base Media Movie Fund (BMMF), primarily provides financing to Hollywood film projects for visual effects (VFX) and post-production work.
BMS VCC partners Base Media Capital Singapore, a subsidiary of the Base Media Technology Group, which operates one of the world’s premiere VFX studios with multiple Oscar nominations as well as three Emmy Awards to its credit, according to a press release by Fleur. The Group’s studios are located in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and China (Beijing, Wuxi, Xiamen). The Group has worked on movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Captain America: Winter Soldier.
BMMF will provide financing to independent as well as studio financed film projects to complete their VFX work and will get repaid with interest upon completion and delivery of the work. In the unlikely event that the studio fails to deliver the work, BMMF will be paid from the film completion insurance purchased by the film project. This unique feature reduces the investment risks of BMMF and its investors, and at the same time, give these investors attractive regular returns projected at more than 10% per annum.
Yap Chee Wee, CEO, Fleur Capital, said: “We are very excited to bring this innovative product, targeted at accredited investors only, to the market. We would like to thank all our partners, including the fund’s advisors and bankers, in assisting to launch this fund in the middle of Singapore’s circuit breaker period when everyone is working from home. It is also a testament to the attractiveness of the VCC structure as the Group was sold on the Singapore branding that a VCC carries.”
Kevin Robl, VP Business Development, Base Media Technology Group, said: ““Singapore is one of the most important financial centres in the world and an extremely influential business hub in SE Asia. When we were presented with the opportunity to partner with Fleur Capital to create one of the flagship funds in this exciting new VCC structure we jumped at the chance.”
He further shared that the BMS VCC marks an important milestone to Group as it enables the Group to provide a complete solution to the film projects; from financing to post-production. It also comes at an opportune time as the Group is in an enviable position to benefit from the global pandemic due to its regional footprint of studios enabling it to undertake projects in China and Malaysia while much of Europe and the US are in a lockdown.
“We, as well as our clients (film projects), are relieved that we could continue working and complete the projects on time. In fact, we are enjoying a strong pipeline all the way to 2021 as a result of other studios around the world being forced to close due to the pandemic,”
“While the pandemic has shut cinemas, online platforms such as Netflix and Disney Plus have gained thousands of new subscribers. Consumers will continue to consume content, but the medium of delivery may change. The Group is well-positioned to capture this shift due to its existing collaboration with these online platforms,” said Robl.
Both the Group and Fleur are confident that BMMF will hit its fund raising targets and have started planning for the next sub-fund targeted at US tax residents.
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