Andy Onchan

Question for the Treasury Minister: Why is Isle of Man not listed as filming location by Pinewood Studios? Wales is deemed good enough but not Isle of Man apparently. http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/our-studios/uk/filming-uk

After all, it's not taxpayers money is it?

............ A few are doing well out of this don't think its us however ! Well the fact is we're not allowed to know if we are doing well out of it or not..... it's all hush-hush.... commercial confidentiality don't you know! You really couldn't make this up.....someone should make a film about it.

Seems this might be some good news for the 'manx film industry'...... or is it? http://pagesix.com/2014/04/30/miranda-richardson-talks-up-new-film-belle/

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/comment/article-2610254/Thought-Pasty-Tax-bad-The-Isle-Man-gives-Toilet-Tax.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uks-pinewood-pictures-expands-production-689566

For the year ended March 2013 Pinewood's Media Investment division (or segment as they like to call it) turned in a loss of almost 2.3 million. For the six months ending 30th Sept 2013 they also managed an operating loss of almost 2.9 million. Both sets of accounts show that the losses were offset by tax credits in the form of UK Film Tax Relief, thus bringing the accounts to an almost break-even position. If I were a potential investor in a PLC I'd be worried that a company that was unable to turn in an operating profit (using others investment funds) without support from government has no hope in hell of really going anywhere. http://online.morningstarir.com/ir/pws/ir.jsp?page=news-item&item=1644749136068608

If the Welsh Assembly are expecting to create significant new jobs in Wales then they should think again. The movie industry by it's nature is highly mobile, it has to be. I'm sure all that will happen is that the UK government will have to spend more on road works as the traffic increases on the M4 corridor as the lighting, carpenters, props, costumes and catering wagons shuttle back and forth between Pinewood/Shepperton & Cardiff. No idea what the Welsh govt are expecting or whether it stands up as an idea but I can see the logic of the argument for it if you are getting someting in return. In this case a film studio. I think Cardiff already has a reasonable media presence as I think Dr Who is made there as are a few other BBC programmes. They had a film studio back in 2008 costing 330 million that went to the wall because it didn't get the support it needed. Had the Welsh Assembly backed their own Welsh investors then perhaps they would be renting out space to Pinewood by now. ETA: Mind you that studio was nowhere near as big as the one proposed by Pinewood.

If the Welsh Assembly are expecting to create significant new jobs in Wales then they should think again. The movie industry by it's nature is highly mobile, it has to be. I'm sure all that will happen is that the UK government will have to spend more on road works as the traffic increases on the M4 corridor as the lighting, carpenters, props, costumes and catering wagons shuttle back and forth between Pinewood/Shepperton & Cardiff.

Bit far away from the target market though which adds unnecessary costs. It's often said that the biggest asset is the people. You mean like the tomatoes on Tesco shelves that come from Israel and the green beans that come from Kenya?

And as such someone should be doing time in the Jurby Hilton.

1. Tiny population = tiny economy.2. Neither one thing nor the other constitutional status. 3. No way of controlling money supply apart from taxation and public wages. 4. Geography. 5. Lack of natural resources. 5. Lack of natural resources Rubbish - it's biggest asset is the most under-used. Agriculture...

The "investment" has nowt to do with films.... that's the red herring.... the value is in the real estate....that's why Peel Holdings are still hanging around. The way this has been structured and engineered it's clear that it doesn't fall into the transparent way that all of the other investments in our portfolio do. And there's a good reason for that. It bears all the hallmarks our CM (and previously as Treasury Minister). It's opaque at best.

And to be fair employs a lot of very skilled local people in set design, construction, editing etc. The expansion with be excellent for the UK's film industry but IMO doesn't have to be at Pinewood, it could be located elsewhere. I think you will find that the set design and construction works are sub-contracted companies engaged by the production company(ies) not PInewood. ETA: In one of Stu's Talking Heads programs I asked our beloved Treasury Minister why Pinewood couldn't move to Mann. Apparently that was a non-starter.

There's one thing that puzzles me about this whole debacle....... why, if John Whittaker who is in property development for the long haul, sell his shares in Pinewood? Is it a 'given' that Pinewood would never get the required planning permissions to expand under a Tory administration? Or was the Pinewood development part of Plan B if Salford Quays Media City fell through? Whatever it is, they really do seem to have backed the wrong horse.

Stop lying Treasury Minister.... the PWS share are not significantly up at all.....they're treading water

Other t Other than by association, as above and styled as a "collaboration", how will the Manx taxpayer know which films their money is being invested in? At least with CinemaNX we knew what we were investing because the CinemaNX name was in the credits.. On another related issue. Is there not a conflict of interest if Steve Christian is both an independent producer and the manager of the taxpayer funds invested in the same film?

http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/committee/pac/Pages/default.aspx I think I can guess how the voting went.

Before the MDF, the financing and facilitation of film production wasn't happening on the island. It's a new industry for the island. You're not even reading my posts are you? I said it depends how you value it. I've seen nothing to say the media *development* fund was supposed to produce direct returns. But that's true of any asset. Why single out the pinewood shares, when the bulk of the reserves, plus the NI and Public Pension pot will also be invested in similar equities? Pre-tax of £3m http://www.guardian....s-profitability The dividend will be £250k I guess? Did Allan Bell say high risk? Where? In the link above he said "He also believes the investment is no more high-risk than other investments made by the Manx Government and by other countries.", that isn't saying it's high risk, it's saying it's not more risky than existing investments. I don't see anything you're saying to back up 'high risk'. I think the issue Slim is that the track record thus far speaks for itself and I personally don't see that improving because the same people/person are/is still involved.

http://www.energyfm.net/cms/news_story_219619.html

There's going to have to be some spectacular spending on the island to wipe off the 17 million already written off the initial investment !!!! i think you will find it's more like 24 million...... or should that be 29 million?

Possibly, though ADHD does not fall into that category. In severe cases it very much needs treatment. And yet it's how old? Is it a new phenomenon or is it just the need to treat it that is new? It's called the nanny state... somewhere, someone thinks that you need to conform to a certain standard. And around that standard a whole new branch of medical prognosis and treament is created, all sustained by pharamceutical companies.

I just happened across this trade article: QUOTE DFDS’s sale of its Irish Sea routes to Stena is being investigated by the Irish Competition Authority (ICA) and, separately, hauliers are concerned that DFDS’s withdrawal from the market could push up prices. The ICA said an initial investigation into Stena Line’s €50 million (US$62.2m) proposal to purchase DFDS Seaways’ Belfast-Birkenhead and Belfast-Heysham services had been inconclusive, and it would look into the deal in more detail. It said: “Following a preliminary investigation, the competition authority is unable to conclude that the acquisition will not substantially lessen competition in markets for goods or services in the state without carrying out a full investigation.” Stena Line was unable to comment on the investigation. The ICA has until 13 April to make a decision on the proposed sale and has invited interested parties to make submissions no later than 5pm on 4 February. The UK’s Office of Fair Trading is also looking at the deal, as standard practice, and told IFW it would announce a decision on 8 February. By the end of the month, three routes on the Irish Sea will close – DFDS’s services between Dublin and Birkenhead and Heysham and Stena’s service between Larne and Fleetwood – leaving four ferry firms operating 14 freight-carrying routes. If the acquisition is given the green light by competition authorities, Stena will operate six. Meanwhile, hauliers are concerned that Stena’s acquisition and the loss of routes will result in increased prices on the trade. One industry observer said: “Stena Line, which is already dominant in shipping passengers, will increase market share instantly. “Prices for overnight ferry tickets are likely to increase dramatically as it starts to milk the freight v passengers [situation] on extremely full ships.” A spokesman for Stena Line said there would still be enough operators on the Irish Sea to ensure that prices would still be governed by market forces." UNQUOTE

Yes...just think how much it would save the taxpayer if people didn't get a chance to fight their case and just all admitted guilt, regardless. In fact why bother with courts at all, surely a couple of coppers could decide the outcome. Derrrrrr... The defendant is, of course, entitled to a plea change but the difference is £25K and on the eve of the trial. On that basis I would have thought that the prosecution would have a strong case for costs in the event of a successful conviction.