Brighthaven, the new film financing venture formed byWaking Ned and Shooting Fish producer Richard Holmes, has agreed to board itsfirst feature film. Brighthaven will be cash-flowing thenew UK tax credit for Andrew O'Connor's Magicians,a comedy feature from the team behind the UK hit TV series Peep Show.

Brighthaven was established to use private equity(from the City's Bruce MacInnes and other futureinvestors) to cash-flow the new UK's tax credit (up to 20% of a film'sbudget). The credit isn't law until the European Union ratifies it, which meansthat banks aren't yet willing to cash-flow it.

Brighthaven effectively finances 75% of the tax breakand then takes the full credit on delivery, giving them a 25% commission. "It'snot wildly different than a bank, but slightly more aggressive," Holmes says."But we don't take a producer's credit, we're nottrying to co-produce."

Holmes said that Magicians was an ideal first project:"We wanted something that was modestly budgeted at $3.8m-$5.7m (£2m-£3m), to beentirely British, and for the people involved to include some establishedplayers. It felt like a good flagship project to get involved with."

Magicians, currently shooting in Surrey, London, Nottingham and Skegness,is produced by Intermedia with co-finance from Universal PicturesInternational, The UK Film Council and EM Media. Los Angeles-based QED ishandling international sales.

Richard Moxon and Martin Haines of Davenport Lyons advised Brighthaven on the Magiciansdeal.

Brighthaven is currently looking at other films towork with in tax-flowing the credit. Holmes said that they would like toinitially work with four other films of individual budgets between $3.8m-$7.6m(£2m-£4m).

Holmes leftGruber Films in May to set up Brighthaven. He willcontinue to serve as an independent producer outside of Brighthaven'sstrictly financial dealings.

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