Shepperton to be world's second biggest film studio with £500 million expansion

UK film industry gets major boost after backing by American streaming giants Netflix and Prime Video

The wartime movie 1917 was one of the major blockbusters made at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. Photo: Universal Pictures

Shepperton Studios in the UK is set for a £500 million expansion that will make it the second largest film and TV studio in the world.

The development, located in Surrey on the outskirts of London, will include a further 17 stages and deliver about 1.2 million square feet.

Politicians have hailed the news, saying that it will “cement” the UK's status as a global filmmaker.

Streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have both committed to leasing Shepperton's studio space for their future creative projects.

Earlier this year Prime Video said it had signed a multimillion-pound long-term contract for the exclusive use of nine sound stages, workshops and office accommodation facilities at Shepperton Studios.

Netflix had already agreed to a deal for the exclusive use of studio space at the site earlier this year.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the deal “cements our status as one of the best places globally to make film and television.”

On Tuesday she visited Shepperton Studios, which is part of the Pinewood Group, and met senior leaders of Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, as well as members of the local council.

They toured the new £500 million expansion project, which is due to open from June 2023.

Ms Donelan said Shepperton Studios was already a “world class production facility” which has created blockbuster classics such as 1917, Gladiator, Billy Elliot and Love Actually.

“The studio’s major expansion will enable our home-grown dream factory to become the second largest studio in the world and create bigger and better global hits, which will cement our status as one of the best places globally to make film and television.”

She added: “Alongside the government’s funding for the BFI Film Academy and National Film and Television School, we look forward to working with the industry to make sure British filmmakers have the skills they need to make the most of the new job opportunities our great entertainment industry has to offer.”

Paul Golding, chairman of Pinewood Group, said the expansion was already progressing at great pace.

He said that his company was adding more than one million square feet to support the UK film industry and to meet the needs of Netflix and Amazon.

Ms Donelan’s visit continued to Pinewood Studios where she opened the Buckinghamshire film office and met students studying creative media skills and toured the production spaces and facilities.

Films made at Shepperton Studios — in pictures