01/09/2006

Italy’s largest leasing agency, Banca Italease , has unveiled a new initiative at the 63rd Venice Film Festival (of which the bank is a co-sponsor): leasing to producers, distributors and theatres from €1-10m.

"Our activity in the film industry", said Marketing Director Paolo Trucco, "could become a niche of our business portfolio. We would like to grow and become an important point of reference for the Italian film industry".

The new financing formula was established after conducting a broad market analysis to pinpoint the specific needs of the industry and to create a product that would most appropriately cover those needs. Thus, producers, distributors and exhibitors, along with numerous specialised professionals, were contacted.

According to Italease data, the annual capital need of the film industry is €420m. Of this amount, €212m are used for production, €100m for purchasing necessary tools and equipment, €83m for the creation of new cinemas, and €25m for rebuilding existing ones.

The new leasing division will finance projects from €1-10m according to the type of project and financing plan (fixed or floating rate). The reimbursement plans are varied: for film rights, the leasing contract is five years; 15 years for renovating multiplexes; and from 36-60 months for purchasing equipment.

There will be great flexibility for repayment and short-term plans of only ten days, a formula foreseen for distributors who have variable capital flows during periods of theatrical distribution, from DVD sales and television broadcasts.

(Translated from Italian)