PGGB’s hire of Manchester-based Jonny Shelton in April 2024 was a great way to usher in the summer. Jonny joined after six years with Creative UK’s regional screen agency and PGGB Partner Filming in England, where he worked with features and dramas that shot across the North and Midlands. Jonny’s responsibilities include becoming the PGGB lead on Nations and Regions, and he and the wider team hit the road hard over summer, spreading the good word of PGGB across the UK.
In May, we officially launched our Yorkshire Committee with an inaugural reception, supported by Sunbelt Rentals and VERSA Studios. Hosted by Dakota Hotel Leeds, PGGB CEO Lyndsay Duthie and Deputy CEO Michael Beavan presented our brand-new Yorkshire Committee to a gathering of friends old and new, including our Members and Partners from Yorkshire.
Watch this space, as we’re also excited to be welcoming new members to our Yorkshire Committee in the next few weeks – at what is an exciting time for the region.
In June, we celebrated another year with our North West Committee, by playing host to over 100 guests at the Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool, the most-shot UK city outside of London, with support from Liverpool Film Office, Space Studios Manchester, Panavision and Netflix. PGGB, Liverpool Film Office and Netflix also visited the development taking place at the former Littlewoods site in Liverpool, which is set to become a brand new studio facility. Developers Capital and Centric outlined their exciting vision for the not-so-distant future, which will see the creation of hundreds of jobs whilst providing a huge boost to the local economy.
Jonny returned to Liverpool in July – this time to attend the launch party of Molinaire, who are opening a new facility in the city; a further sign of the growth taking place, and the quality of services available to local productions.
Also in July, PGGB returned to Cardiff for their third event in less than twelve months. With the support of our Wales Committee and our sponsors Facilities by ADF and Entertainment Partners, the Voco St Davids Hotel in Cardiff Bay was the perfect setting for our guests to meet with us, and here more about new PGGB initiatives such as our Membership Mentoring Programme, Bursary Scheme and recent Membership Survey.
Our Partners have continued to offer value to our members this summer; whether it be from continued sponsorship across all of our Nations and Regions Committees, or by joining PGGB in supporting other opportunities for members to get together and meet with all of us.
In August, Performance Insurance, Sunbelt Rentals and PGGB came together to welcome the best across Belfast and Northern Ireland to our Producer’s Breakfast. We were so pleased to see as many of you there as we did, whilst making sure we made the most of our trip by getting out to meeting other key professionals and services in the sector over two days.
And whilst that might be an end to the summer travels, that’s only for now – as we are currently working through plans with both our Bristol & the South West Committee and Scotland Committee, in hope that we can continue to allow extraordinary opportunities for our members to meet us, and for non-members to hear more about what we do.
