A SCOTTISH novelist and screen writer has launched an investment offer to raise funding for a film he is planning to shoot on the south side of Glasgow.
Mark MacNicol, who has published two novels and holds a masters degree in screen writing, is aiming to raise up to £150,000 to fund the production of Night Tremors, a supernatural horror film, in his home city.
Mr MacNicol, who was brought up in Pollok, is marketing the investment through the UK Government’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). The scheme is designed to help start-ups and small businesses attract investment by offering investors tax relief of up to 50 per cent.
Mr MacNicol said the scheme has been successfully used to finance other independent films in the UK, noting that he was introduced to SEIS by the respected London-based independent filmmaker Chris Jones.
Having seen the screenplays for his two novels optioned by film production companies, which continue to seek finance to get them off the ground, he said he “now knows that finding a producer is not the same thing as getting the green light” for a production to begin.
Alongside tax relief brought by SEIS, Mr MacNicol declared that investors in his project will receive 20 per cent relief thanks to UK film tax credits passed on from the producers, who will also pass on between five and 10 per cent of the VAT (valued added tax) returned to them. “If you put in £1,000 you get a £750 refund – regardless of whether the film makes a profit or not,” he said. “We are not talking about a big tax deduction, we are talking about a refund.”
Mr MacNicol, who has secured accreditation from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to run the SEIS scheme, is marketing “parcels” of investment in the film for £1,000 (each parcel includes 1,000 shares). SEIS regulations dictate that £150,000 is the maximum which can be raised by companies using the scheme. So far £50,000 has been raised.
The ultimate return for the investor will depend on how profitable the film is. This will be determined by factors such as sales and distribution deals, which cannot be negotiated until the film is made. Investors, who will effectively be shareholders in the film production company, will receive dividends based on sales from DVD and cinema screenings.
As well as the prospect of a return on investment, investors can expect perks such as invitations to premieres and to have their name printed on the DVD cover.
Mr MacNicol does not envisage it being solely film investor types who get behind the project, stating that the £1,000 tag opens it up to a broader range of investors.
Mr MacNicol said securing screenings for the film in the big chains was not impossible, saying that it is “wrong to say they don’t take independent films”.
He pledged to move swiftly into pre-production as soon as the funds are in place.
The cut-off date for investment under the SEIS scheme is July next year.
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