Ignition Media Finance to lend producers 20% of budgets during pre-production.

UK film fund and TV finance firm Prescience has launched subsidiary Ignition Media Finance to provide short-term media backing and pre-production funding for producers.

Ignition is being set up to lend a producer between 15% and 20% of the total budget during pre-production.

Since launching ten years ago, The King’s Speech backer Prescience has provided pre-production, bridge and tactical finance to projects in the US, UK and other European territories.

Recent Prescience-backed TV projects include Wolf Hall, The Dresser starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen and SyFy series Dark Matter.

Prescience is currently financing feature A Street Cat Named Bob, in association with Brian O’Shea’s sales agency, The Exchange.