| Type | Public: LSE: HMF |
|---|---|
| Industry | Filmmaking, Distribution |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder(s) | George Harrison Denis O'Brien |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom, |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | David Francis |
| Products | Handmade Films Handmade Films international |
| Services | Distribution |
| Divisions | HandMade Films International |
| Subsidiaries | Sequence, Equator |
| Website | www.handmadefilms.com |
HandMade Films is a British film production and distribution company. Through a series of sales, and acquisitions, the company now known as Handmade Plc owns all the rights and assets of the original HandMade Films Ltd. Notable films from the studio include Monty Python's Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Withnail and I and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
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HandMade Films was formed by former Beatle George Harrison and business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978 to finance the Monty Python film Life of Brian. When the original financiers of Brian, EMI Films, pulled out the creators had to find other financing. When asked why he wanted to finance the film, Harrison remarked that he wanted to see the film upon reading the script, to which Terry Jones commented, "that must be the most expensive movie ticket in history." Harrison, a friend and fan of the Pythons, mortgaged his home in order to finance the feature. The first film started under the company was 1981's Time Bandits. The company continued to produce films through the 1980s.
In 1994 the company was acquired by the Canadian company Paragon Entertainment, which restarted production under the HandMade name.[1] The company's most notable release of that era was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). In 1999 Patrick Meehan and Cartier Investments acquired HandMade from Paragon.[2] In June 2006 the Equator Group plc acquired Handmade Holdings Limited, and in November of that year Sequence Film Limited (a film sales, marketing and financial packaging company) was also acquired. It was subsequently renamed Handmade Films International.[3] The parent company, now known as HandMade plc, is currently publicly traded under the symbol HMF.
On 7 January 2010 the company's shares were suspended on the London AIM stock market pending financial restructuring.[4]
In July 2010, Handmade was purchased for $6.1 million by a syndicate of Jersey based businessmen at which time wealth-manager David Francis was reported to be deciding what to do with the business. [5]