Simon Fawcett, the formerfinance director for Pathe, is launching a new hedge fund to support Britishfilms. Aramid Entertainment Fund is the latest company stepping forward to cashflow the new UK tax credit and seeks to raise up to £150m.

Aramid Capital Partnerscomprises three financiers: London-based Future Capital Partners, LA-basedScreen Capital International and Louisiana-based Stonehenge Capital.

Aramid is led by Fawcett aschief executive with Future's Tim Levy, Screen Capital's David Molner andStonehenge's Thomas Adamek.

The hedge fund is backed byindividuals and institutions. In addition to the new UK tax credit, the companywill consider films for gap funding, bridge financing and cashflowing US statetax credits.

The new UK tax credit is stillawaiting EU approval, so most banks have been afraid to cashflow it, while anumber of UK-based financiers have decided to back it (albeit as sometimes highpremiums) during the last few months.

'Aramid aims to provide Producers with competitively pricedalternative forms of debt financing to ease the burden of cashflowing theirprojects, for which the ability to discount tax credits can be an instrumentalpart,' said Fawcett.