It has been confirmed that Freeway Entertainment Group will take on the responsibilities of the National Film Trustee Company (NFTC) from the UK Film Council, as of this month.
The transfer follows the UK Film Council’s decision to sell NFTC, the UK-based film collection account management company, in order to reduce overheads in the rapidly changing current climate for public spending in the UK.
A subsidiary company of the UK Film Council since 2000, the NFTC was formed in 1971 and currently administers revenues for more than 450 films. As trustee, the NFTC’s two main responsibilities are: provision of an efficient, independent and ongoing revenue collection and administration service for film financiers, producers, sales companies and third party beneficiaries with a financial interest in the exploitation of a feature film; and the management of funds in accordance with its collection agreements, impartially and transparently reimbursing funds strictly in accordance with pre-agreed recoupment structures.
As part of its endeavours to reduce overheads in a rapidly changing film industry economy, British Screen Finance Limited conducted a review of options available to NFTC, and concluded that going forward, NFTC clients would best be served by operations being incorporated with those of a larger company.
Freeway’s Director, Collection Account Management, Martijn Meerstadt, said: “We are proud to become the new owner of NFTC. Our intention is to merge the collection account management divisions of NFTC and Freeway, adopting the best practices of both organisations to ensure that we can deliver the best collection account management and revenue administration services to rights holders in the future.
“Our message to NFTC clients is simple. This will be a smooth transition and you should not notice any interruption of service. The future revenues on your films will continue to be distributed in accordance with the terms of your existing collection account management agreements. The unique legal and financial structure of the company from a trust perspective will not be changed. We will continue to hold all monies on trust which ensures our clients are protected in the event of insolvency, changes in ownership or otherwise.
“Finally, on behalf of the entire team at Freeway, we are delighted to welcome you as clients of our company.”
Freeway Entertainment Group is a global operation that provides worldwide royalty collection and administration solutions to the international film industry. In 2009 it launched RevCheck BV, a distribution audit company offering an outstanding combination of expertise and experience in the field of revenue reconciliations from its own offices and through the worldwide network of its mother company, TMF Group. TMF Group is a global management and accounting outsourcing company with over 3,000 professionals working out of 86 offices in 65 countries around the world.
Read the full story on Screen International.