Perpetual has merged its bridge lending operations with UK financier Prescience. Perpetual MD Alastair Burlingham will join Prescience to head its bridge and tactical funding operations via a new specialist lending arm, Bridgeworks Capital.

The new company closed its first two agreements last month with projects uwantme2killhim?, an Anonymous Content/Bad Hat Harry/Andrew Douglas Films co-production (sold by Independent), and The Numbers Station, starring John Cusack, which starts shooting in late November (sold by Content).

Prescience Managing Director, Tim Smith, said: “We have worked well with Perpetual and Alastair over the last couple of years in this area of financing on a co-funding basis. It makes a great deal of sense to consolidate bridge financing, tactical and bespoke lending to films in one new entity. We’re very excited about this new business.”

Bridgeworks will focus on the management of short term facilities to producers and productions in the UK, North America and internationally, it will manage existing Prescience tactical funds.

Alastair Burlingham, Perpetual and Bridgeworks Capital Director, added: “I am delighted to be joining forces with Tim and the team at Prescience and pooling our specialist resources and funding bases in a streamlined business model via Bridgeworks. This will deepen our product base and materially enhance our capacity to meet the ever-increasing demand we see for bridge
from suitable productions pending legal “closing” of their permanent production finance, as well as provide bespoke loan product on a project-by-project basis”.

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