Spotlight: Gary Bell, Managing Director of EP’s Operations in the UK and Ireland

With more than two decades of experience in professional service, Gary Bell is helping studios and production companies to navigate the UK landscape with ease. As Managing Director of Entertainment Partners’ UK and Ireland operations, he’s focused on what matters most: keeping UK productions running smoothly from prep to wrap.

A Chartered Accountant and founding partner of FLB Accountants – acquired by Entertainment Partners in 2022 – Gary brings deep expertise in business development, tax compliance and client engagement.

“The industry’s been on a rollercoaster. COVID had a hugely detrimental impact. Then we had a post-pandemic boom, but it rebounded at an unsustainable pace. Crews were overwhelmed trying to meet demand. Now, after the 2023 strikes in the US and a drop in local commissions, we’re seeing a huge impact again.”

How the UK stays competitive

Despite recent headwinds, Gary believes that the UK is one of the most attractive production hubs in the world, thanks to its generous incentives, world-class crew and robust infrastructure. Combined with diverse locations and continued investment in new studio space, the UK is production ready.

“There’s a huge amount of talented crew in the UK, which is a major strength. Infrastructure also plays a key role. While the UK has long been home to iconic studios such as Pinewood, Leavesden and Shepperton, new production hubs have also emerged.

Once upon a time everything was within the M25. Now, there are so many options outside the typical loop. Just down from our office in Winnersh is Shinfield Studios, which has 18 new sound stages ranging from 7,000 to 43,000 square feet. It’s incredible to see that growth.”

Integrated solutions, localised for the UK

For local productions operating on tight budgets, efficiency is crucial. For studio clients, having one consistent product set is also incredibly powerful. Once upon a time, every contract and timecard was on paper. Now there are digital solutions, but production teams may still be using disparate systems which don’t talk to each other, leading to repetition of tasks and costly errors. EP is focused on delivering a consistent experience for UK productions of all sizes, backed by integrated technology tailored to local regulations.

“Our integrated Production Finance Studio sets EP apart. We currently have SmartAccounting, our flagship cost management system, which has been fully optimised and stress tested on major studio productions. Movie Magic Budgeting and Movie Magic Scheduling – the global gold standard applications – are also available in the UK. 

Entertainment Parnters is uniquely positioned in terms of ensuring our technology is the same anywhere in the world. We’ve taken our industry-leading products and localised them for each jurisdiction rather than using different tech stacks. That really helps when you have a co-production with US crew coming to the UK. With us, they log into the same system they’re used to and can hit the ground running.”

Clarity across borders

Productions crossing jurisdictions face a host of financial complexities – from varying tax systems to compliance and reporting differences. With EP, a financial controller can be working across three different jurisdictions and see their entire project in one system, with the exact same interface they’re accustomed to. That familiarity is incredibly powerful.

“Let’s say we have a co-production shooting across multiple territories. It doesn’t matter what’s being shot where, because we’ve built our accounting technology to facilitate the requirements of each jurisdiction. You want to see local currency values in each territory, but you may have different legal entities that require different reporting.

And of course in the UK, there are specific accounting and tax compliance rules that systems need to interact with. If you don’t get it right, you could be leaving a significant amount of money on the table – or run into regulatory issues. 

If a local production needs to take crews to a European location, we can walk them through how to do that – whether there’s a double-tax treaty in place, or different rules and requirements from the payroll and accounting perspective.”

Full-service support for your UK production

Entertainment Partners' UK team provides full-spectrum production support, from payroll and accounting to legal setup and incentive guidance. 

Studios are always looking for ways to maximise budgets, and incentives play a crucial role. That said, navigating the various tax relief programmes in the UK, Canada and other international markets can be complicated. 

"EP’s global incentives team can provide comprehensive multi-jurisdictional tax and incentive guidance, which is a major advantage for productions. We’ve also invested heavily in building an industry-leading solution in the UK which assures studios that they’re complying with UK tax and accounting requirements, particularly VAT. This includes the complex rules around how accounting systems have to interact with government systems."

In addition, EP's UK-based experts can provide support throughout the entire arc of production.

“We often get asked: how do we incorporate our legal structures in the UK? How do we meet all of our compliance obligations? Because of the breadth of knowledge on our team and the service we provide, we’re able to partner with clients and support them across the board. We blend production experience with tax and governance knowledge to help clients expand with confidence.”

Investing in the future of UK production

The commitment to the industry doesn’t stop at project delivery – the UK team is committed to helping the local production workforce grow and thrive.

“We’ve partnered with the National Film and Television School and the Royal Television Society to nurture the next generation of production professionals. We also co-founded the Production Guild of Great Britain’s Talent Development Fund to support mid-level production finance crew advance their careers, helping them to train over 150 production finance and production management crew.

At the end of the day, we’re here to make your productions successful. Whether we’re providing payroll and accounting services, production finance and management solutions or incentive support – our job is to partner with you and make your life easier.”

Looking for support with your UK productions? Contact us to find out more about EP's team of international experts can work for you.