London-based firm to employ at least 200 at new Canadian office.

Quebec premier Pauline Marois has announced that Cinesite, the London-based VFX and animations production company, is to open a Montreal subsidiary that will oversee the company’s North American operations.

The new studio will employ at least 200 people, with the potential to reach 250 employees by 2018. The project will involve a capital investment of $6.7m and a payroll investment of $42.4m. The Quebec government is granting Cinesite a $1.2m interest-free loan to assist with the finance of the initiative.

Cinesite VFX has worked on around 150 films and TV productions including Iron Man 3 and upcoming features such as The Monuments Men and 300: Rise of an Empire. It has worked with studios including Disney, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros as well as HBO Films and the BBC.

Cinesite also plans to produce animated films and carry out R&D on its proprietary production tools.

“I’m delighted that Cinesite has chosen Quebec to be its key partner in North America,” said Marois.

“The creation of lasting employment in Quebec is the priority of my government’s economic policy. To attain our objective of creating 43,000 quality jobs by 2017, we are supporting the realization of major economic projects such as the establishment in Montreal of Cinesite Inc. in the rapidly growing visual effects sector.”