The film, which is due to begin filming later this year, is inspired by the cult 1970s fantasy book and TV series, ‘Catweazle’. The duo has teamed up with Intandem Films to raise the £6 million production budget, with £2 million coming through the EIS.
The team behind the camera includes double BAFTA award winner Richard Carpenter, who created the original series and has also written the film’s screenplay. BAFTA winner, John Henderson, will direct the film and fellow British Academy award winner Paul Knight, will produce the movie.
Philip Ettinger, executive producer of ‘Catweazle − The Movie’, commented: “Catweazle was a huge success in the 1970s and we’re confident that this film will appeal to a wide audience from children to their parents, as well as fans of the original series.
“This is a really exciting investment opportunity, with some extremely attractive benefits. The advantage of films is that the money made from a film that doesn’t stop with box office sales, with merchandising and other franchising opportunities also providing excellent revenue streams.”
The Enterprise Investment Scheme is designed to encourage investment by individuals in equity of privately trading companies. Investing in this type of scheme offers significant tax benefits and investors can take advantage of 30 per cent income tax relief. The maximum investment in any tax year that qualifies for relief is currently £500,000, meaning the maximum income tax relief available for 2011/12 is £150,000. Alternatively, there is the facility to carry-back income tax relief to the previous tax year, 2010/11, for which the maximum income tax relief available is £100,000. Investors can postpone paying capital gains tax (CGT) and claim relief against income or CGT for shares sold at a loss. Investments in an EIS are also eligible for business property relief, and therefore exempt from inheritance tax, after being held for two years.
The original series of Catweazle aired to more than eight million viewers an episode in the UK and was broadcast in more than 50 countries across the world. ‘Catweazle – The Movie’ is due to appear on UK cinema screens in summer 2012 and promises to be a live action film for the whole family.
