27th January 2023

Award-winning Second Home Studios receives £250,000 funding from MEIF Maven Debt Finance

Funding will support Digbeth-based animation production house to renovate studios, create new jobs and drive production of longer stop-motion animation series

January 2023, Birmingham, UK - Second Home Studios Ltd (“SHSL”), an animation studio and production house based in Digbeth, Birmingham, has received a £250,000 funding package from MEIF Maven Debt Finance. The debt fund is part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (“MEIF”), managed by Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme (“RLS”).

SHSL was founded in 2004 by Christopher Randall, who opened the studio in Birmingham’s creative quarter - Digbeth. Since its inception, the business has won a host of accolades, including four Royal Television Society awards and two British Animation Awards, whilst also producing BAFTA-winning work for CiTV.

SHSL has recently been commissioned by Channel 5, BBC Alba (Scotland), S4C (Wales) and TG4 (Ireland) to produce a pre-school stop-motion animation series called Tweedy & Fluff. This new series is a great opportunity for the studio to expand its horizons into long form production and the business has moved into new studios in Digbeth to accommodate the series.

The studio has a reputation for its innovative, stop-motion animation, but is currently making strides into Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) animation experiences.

The company has a diverse portfolio working with a range of notable companies including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, WaterAid, National Express, Sky, Sony, and German educational channel Da Vinci Learning.

As well as high profile national and international projects, Second Home Studios Ltd often team up with local companies, such as its promotional work for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s recent production of Don Quixote and its BAFTA nominated film for Town Hall Symphony Hall-
The Mechanical Musical Marvel.

The funding will enable SHSL to renovate its new premises and obtain the equipment and fittings necessary to be able to film the long-term animation series. The series will also generate 16 additional jobs at Second Home Studios Ltd, further boosting the local economy.

Sajid Sabir, Investment Manager for Maven, said: “It’s great to have such an innovative and creative business expanding its portfolio and bringing new, exciting opportunities to the region. I have no doubt that Second Home Studio Ltd will continue to evolve and succeed and I am glad Maven can join them on their growth journey.”

Christopher Randall, Founder and Creative Director of Second Home Studios, added: “Once produced, the upcoming Tweedy & Fluff series will be the first of its kind to come from the city. With so little support around for an expansion of this scale, we’re incredibly grateful to Maven for offering this fund which will make a huge impact on building the studio facility we need.”

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, added: “Backing innovative companies, who impact on the region's overall growth by creating local jobs and helping businesses scale up is part of MEIFs core values. MEIFs investment in a creative business like Second Home Studios Ltd is a perfect example that showcases its commitment to the Midlands business community”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2022 and the European Investment Bank.