EXCLUSIVE: London production outfit secures £1.5m, according to company heads.

London-based production outfit Iron Box Films has secured £1.5m in development backing from private investors, according to company founders.

The fund will be used to develop a slate of seven to ten international and British features and television projects.

Set up by Bernhard Pucher in 2007, who has since been joined by Raimund Berens and Nathan Haines, Iron Box Films produced low-budget UK comedy-drama Betsy & Leonard in 2012 and has also produced commercials, music videos and shorts.

The company will now focus solely on the development and production of feature and TV with future corporate and commercials work produced by sister company, Element 26, run by Nathan Haines.

On the development slate are comedy-drama The First Cypriot Astronaut from writer-director Stavros Pambalis and thriller Trademark.

Both are due to be executive produced by Colin Brown, Mark Sandell and Nathan Haines.

Comedy horror Squat Party has been written by Luke Foster, who wrote Betsy & Leonard, which won Best Original Screenplay at the Madrid International Film Festival.