Blackstone and Hudson Pacific Properties Announce Plans for New World-Class Film and TV Studios in the UK
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) plan to create a major new centre for film, TV and digital production in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210802005278/en/
Artist Impression No. 1 (Photo: Business Wire)
Funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Hudson Pacific Properties acquired a 91-acre site, 17 miles north of central London, through a joint venture for £120 million. The acquisition, with an expected total investment of over £700 million, will be the partners’ first expansion of their Sunset Studios platform outside of the US.
The proposed development, which is subject to planning permission, would transform the site into one of the largest world-class film and television studio campuses. The project is expected to create over 4,500 permanent jobs for Broxbourne and the surrounding community and contribute more than £300 million annually into the local economy.
This transaction is a continuation of Blackstone’s existing joint venture with Hudson Pacific, a leading Los Angeles-based office and studio owner and operator. Together, Blackstone and Hudson Pacific own a media portfolio that totals 3.5 million square feet, including 35 active sound stages and on-site creative offices, as well as development rights. Sunset Studios has hosted some of the biggest small and big screen hits including When Harry Met Sally and La La Land as well as numerous Academy Award winning films.
James Seppala, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “We are excited to expand our partnership with Hudson Pacific into the UK, and intend to deliver a world-class studio facility that will help ensure that the UK continues to be a premier destination for content production globally. This is a continuation of our thematic investment focus and long-term conviction in media, entertainment and content creation.”
Victor Coleman, Chairman and CEO of Hudson Pacific, said: “We are thrilled to expand our Sunset Studios platform in the UK, a global hub for film and television production. With our expertise developing and operating state-of-the-art media campuses and Blackstone’s resources and existing market presence, we are confident this facility will be in high demand from leading content creators. We look forward to working with Broxbourne Council to ensure the project has a meaningful positive impact on the local community.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This investment is excellent news for the UK’s film and TV industry, pumping hundreds of millions of pounds into the local economy and creating thousands of jobs for the people of Hertfordshire. The creative industries are at the heart of our plans to build back better. This will be a hub for both UK and international productions, showcasing home-grown talent on the global stage.”
Oliver Dowden MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “This new studio is yet another vote of confidence in the UK’s booming film and TV industry. Through the British Film Commission, we’re supporting the development of stage spaces like this across the UK - boosting the local economy and backing our world-class creatives to make the next Bond blockbuster or bingeworthy box set.”
Cllr. Lewis Cocking, Leader of Broxbourne Borough Council, said: “This represents a fantastic opportunity for the people of our borough. Creative Industries are of strategic importance to us and the creation of over 4,500 permanent new jobs and the associated boost to the local economy is just what we need following the pandemic. We look forward to working with Blackstone and Hudson Pacific to help deliver significant positive change in Broxbourne.”
Artist impressions of the proposed development can be downloaded here and here.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $684 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
About Hudson Pacific Properties
Hudson Pacific is a real estate investment trust with a portfolio of office and studio properties totaling nearly 20 million square feet, including land for development. Focused on premier West Coast epicenters of innovation, media and technology, its anchor tenants include Fortune 500 and leading growth companies such as Netflix, Google, Square, Uber, NFL Enterprises and more. Hudson Pacific is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol HPP and listed as a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information visit HudsonPacificProperties.com.
Notes to editors: list of notable productions that have been filmed at Sunset Studios include:
- Project Runway
- Scandal
- X-Men (2000)
- When Harry Met Sally
- Karate Kid
- I Love you, Man
- Zoolander
- La La Land
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
- True Blood
- Fresh Prince of Bel Air
- Golden Girls
- Hannah Montana
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (Academy Awards Best Picture winner)
- Lost Horizon
- Six Feet Under
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210802005278/en/
Contact information
Media
For Blackstone
Paul Stephenson
Hanbury
paul.stephenson@hanburystrategy.com
Tel: 07725 610 696
Niamh Fogarty
Hanbury
niamh.fogarty@hanburystrategy.com
Tel: 07946 813 843
For Hudson Pacific Properties
Glesni Thomas
FleishmanHillard
glesni.thomas@fleishman.com
Tel: 07528 383 508
Julia Hipkiss
FleishmanHillard
julia.hipkiss@fleishman.com
Tel: 07827896036
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
SIAL Paris 2026 : The Entire Food Industry in One Place – An Unmissable Event for Professionals8.12.2025 10:00:00 EET | Press release
With less than a year to go, SIAL Parisonce again stands as a key international gathering for food industry professionals. With 85% of exhibition space already booked, the show demonstrates very strong momentum and appeal. SIAL Paris will welcome 295,000 professionals from 200 countries across a stunning 280,000 m² of exhibition space, covering all sectors of the food industry. Innovation at the core of global food transformation In a context marked by major demographic, environmental and geopolitical challenges, SIAL Paris stands as THE hub where innovation drives action, business, and transformation. It brings across all sectors’ ideas, projects, and solutions that address today’s challenges, all while inspiring food business around the world. As in every edition, the show will offer a unique immersive experience, facilitating meaningful meetings and business opportunities. SIAL Paris serves as the global international showcase for food innovation, allowing brands and companies to ex
Merz Therapeutics to Present Broad Range of Clinical, Real-World and Mechanistic Data at TOXINS 20268.12.2025 09:00:00 EET | Press release
Merz Therapeutics, a leading player in neurology-focused specialty pharma, today announced that the company will present more than 20 clinical and non-clinical abstracts and posters spanning spasticity, movement disorders, and neurotoxin science at the TOXINS 2026 8th International Conference, taking place January 14–17, 2026, in Madrid, Spain. These presentations underscore the company’s commitment to addressing unmet needs in neurological disorders. “Our research reflects a relentless focus on improving patient outcomes through innovation in neurotoxin science,” said Dr. Stefan Albrecht, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at Merz Therapeutics. “By presenting these new data at TOXINS 2026, we aim to foster scientific exchange and advance treatment strategies that address real-world challenges for patients and clinicians.” Merz Therapeutics will share new findings reflecting its continued dedication to advancing neurotoxin science. These include: Lower Limb Spasticity Incobotulinumto
Galderma Welcomes Increased Equity Investment From L’Oréal8.12.2025 08:05:00 EET | Press release
Galderma Group AG (SIX:GALD), the pure-play dermatology category leader, today announced that L’Oréal Groupe intends to increase its equity investment in the company, acquiring an additional 10% stake from Sunshine SwissCo GmbH (a consortium led by EQT, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Auba Investment Pte. Ltd., acting as sellers). Following the transaction, which is subject to customary approvals, L’Oréal’s total shareholding in Galderma will rise to 20%, building on its initial investment made in August 2024. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2026. In connection with this increased investment, Galderma will consider nominating two non-independent board candidates from L’Oréal, replacing the board members representing the consortium led by EQT, at the 2026 Annual General Meeting. Additionally, Galderma and L’Oréal aim at exploring additional scientific research projects of mutual interest. This ongoing collaboration brings together Galderma’s scientific leadership i
Ant International Wins Champion of NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection8.12.2025 05:37:00 EET | Press release
Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation, and financial technology provider, has won first place at the NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251207210856/en/ Ant International’s solution takes top spot at the NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection, emerging first among over 2,100 submissions from 162 teams globally. AI Fairness enhances Financial Security Studies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that many commercial facial recognition algorithms have significantly higher error rates for women and people of colour largely due to underrepresentation in datasets AI algorithms are trained on. Biased algorithms lead to unfair denials of service and create security vulnerabilities. The competition at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, among the world’s most prestigious AI con
Sonrotoclax Data at ASH 2025 Confirm Foundational Potential Across B-cell Malignancies8.12.2025 01:00:00 EET | Press release
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced new data on sonrotoclax, a next-generation investigational BCL2 inhibitor, demonstrating meaningful clinical benefit as monotherapy and in combination across B-cell malignancies. These data were featured at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, Florida. The five presentations highlight durable responses in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and additional studies showing deep, rapid, and sustained undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) rates with sonrotoclax-based combinations in patients with treatment-naive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), highlighting the foundational potential of this medicine. “The data we’re presenting at ASH 2025 are redefining what physicians can expect from sonrotoclax as a next-generation BCL2 inhibitor,” said Amit Agarwal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom