Plans for the UK’s largest film studio, which would have been built by collapsed contractor ISG, have officially been scrapped.
The £700m Sunset Waltham Cross Studios project, just off the M25 in Hertfordshire, was meant to be developed by Blackstone and US-studio firm Hudson Pacific Properties.
Announced in 2021, the clients appointed ISG to deliver the 91-acre facility the following year.
Erith carried out enabling works at the site, but the project was paused in 2023 with listed steel subcontractor Severfield having to announce it was removing the work from its order book.
In repeated statements to Construction News since, the developers insisted the project remained “paused” rather than cancelled.
But this week it has was announced that they were exploring alternative uses for the site.
A spokesperson for the joint developers said they were disappointed that “a studio development is no longer feasible at this time given market conditions”.
“We are determined to work with the council to secure the best possible alternative use for the site to support economic prosperity for the local community,” they added.
Broxbourne Council leader Mark Mills-Bishop said: “I am extremely disappointed to learn that the planned Sunset Studios facility will now not proceed.
“It is my understanding that the market conditions are currently not favourable for new film studios across the UK.”
There was a boom in film studio builds after 2020, with facilities including Sky’s £190m studio complex built by Bam Construct in Hertsmere, Hertfordshire, Laing O’Rourke’s studio project at the former Littlewoods headquarters in Liverpool, and Curo Construction’s £250m Shinfield Studios in Reading.
However, following the lengthy actors’ and writers’ strikes in the US in 2023, studios have been reported to be reviewing their financial investments.
The pause in the Waltham Cross project hit profit at ISG, according to its administrators. EY said in a report in December that the £2bn-contractor had been experiencing problems since the pandemic, legacy issues and disputes with clients over high-rise residential projects from 2020.
They added that the administration of Britishvolt, which led to the scrapping of a £300m contract to build a gigafactory in Northumberland, and then the suspension of the Sunset Waltham Cross Studios project, worth £600m to the contractor, rocked it further.
“The combined impact of these projects not proceeding as expected negatively impacted cashflow and profitability,” the administrators said.
Broxbourne Council said it would work with the developers as they come up with new ideas for the site.
A feasibility study for alternative uses is underway, it said in a statement.
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Ian Weinfass