Chorion (company)

Chorion Limited^[3] was a multinational media production company with offices in London, New York, and Sydney. The company produced TV shows and feature films, and was best known for its portfolio of entertainment brands. These included children's characters such as Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit, The Mr. Men Show, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Olivia,^[4] Gaspard and Lisa and Noddy. The company also owned the rights to the Agatha Christie Estate (including the Miss Marple and Poirot characters), Raymond Chandler,^[5] and Georges Simenon.

Chorion Limited

Formerly	Farthingway PLC (Apr-Oct 1995) Trocadero PLC (Oct 1995-Apr 1998) Chorion PLC (Apr 1995-May 2002) New Chorion PLC (Feb–May 2002) Chorion PLC (May 2002–2006)
Company type	Private company limited by shares
Industry	Media Television production Distribution
Founded	7 April 1995 (7 April 1995)
Defunct	March 2012 (2012-03)
Fate	Split up, assets sold off
Successor	Sony Pictures Television Kids
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom New York City, US Sydney, Australia
Products	Animation Film production
Number of employees	150+
Subsidiaries	Silver Lining Productions Chorion Rights Limited^[1] Chorion (IP) limited^[2] Agatha Christie Limited
Website	chorion.co.uk
Footnotes / references ^[3]

Chorion existed initially as a diversified entertainment company, with a portfolio of Intellectual Property (IP) rights, live entertainment venues and commercial real estate. From 2002 onwards, the business was refocused towards heritage IP Rights management and media production.

History

1995–1998: Beginnings

In 1994, the Burford Group purchased the London Trocadero entertainment complex in Piccadilly Circus, London for £94 million^[6] Nick Leslau and Nigel Wray, the operators of the complex, branched off on their own and separated the Trocadero's operations as a stand-alone company in 1995, called Trocadero PLC.

In January 1996, Trocadero PLC acquired Darrell Waters Ltd., the holding company for the estate of children's author Enid Blyton for £14.6 million. They soon formed a new subsidiary - Enid Blyton Ltd. to handle all intellectual properties, character brands, and media in Blyton's works. However, with this addition for the complex, along with a major tenant in the form of SegaWorld London, the company still failed to attract visitors. In 1997, John Conlan and Nick Tamblyn took over as the company's operators and re-structured Trocadero to focus on acquiring other intellectual properties and nightlife venues.^{[citation needed]}

1998-2002: Rebranding as Chorion

On 4 April 1998, Trocadero PLC was renamed as Chorion PLC, and under its new structure, both divisions of the company had expanded. The Bars & Nightclubs division acquired the London-based Oxygen, Zoo Bar/Venom, and Bar Madrid Nightclubs from Luminar PLC^[7] With their first nightclubs under their ownership, Chorion opened Tiger Tiger nightclub on London's Haymarket in late 1998. Tiger Tiger was the flagship of the company's nightclubs, with additional venues planned from 1999 onwards.^[8]

For Chorion's IP division, the company's first step into becoming the media production company it ultimately became came in June 1998, when Chorion acquired the rights to the Agatha Christie literary estate,^[9] with a vision of reviving the crime brand through new TV production and exporting the property to the United States, and soon afterward purchased the literary estate of Georges Simenon.

Despite the success of these nightclubs, it became increasingly clear that Chorion's business was made up of two very different divisions: a media production and rights ownership division, and an entertainment venue division. Analysts frequently cautioned that the company would not unlock its full value until these two businesses were demerged.^[10][11]

In February 2000, Chorion sold its ownership of the loss-making Trocadero Centre back to its previous owner, Burford Holdings. Later that year, in May 2000, the management announced during an Annual General Meeting their intention to demerge the nightclub and venue business from the media business.^[12]

In March 2001, the split of the entertainment division was delayed.^[13] By April 2001, Chorion's nightclub and venue division included nine London-based clubs, and three Tiger Tiger venues in London, Manchester and Bermingham, with additional branches in Portsmouth, Croydon and Leeds following on later in the year.^[14] and continued to purchase more venues.^[15]

2002-2006: Split of Nightclub division, growth

On 17 May 2002, Chorion officially demerged its nightclub and venue division as a separately-operated public company named Urbium PLC.^[16][17] New Chorion PLC, which was formed to take over the IP division, effectively became the new Chorion PLC and was renamed as such within the same month.^[18] With the company focused solely on media production, Chorion began a period of expansion driven by the acquisition of new literary properties and the development of new TV and film properties to unlock their value. The first steps in this new direction included a series of management changes that placed experienced executives from the world of television at the helm of the company. At the end of the month, the company purchased the literacy estate of Nicolas Freeling.^[19]

On 4 December 2002, Chief Executive Nick Tamblyn announced his immediate resignation.^[20] Waheed Alli joined the company as a Non-Executive Deputy Chairman.^[21] Just a few months later, in April 2003, he stepped up to the position of chairman.^[22] The company put up its children's assets for sale in November 2002^[23] but ultimately decided to keep them.

During this period, Chorion produced various new TV productions. In May 2002, Britain's Channel Five announced that it had bought 100 episodes of a new CGI-animated TV series based on Enid Blyton's Noddy,^[24] with the show Make Way For Noddy airing in September of that year.^[25] In November 2002, the company announced a four-year deal with major British television network ITV to produce a few feature-length TV dramas based on the Agatha Christie novels.^[26] These began to broadcast on-air at the end of 2003.^[27] During this period, development and production also began on an animated cartoon series based on The Famous Five^[28] in collaboration with Disney Channel in France.^[29] The range of newly developed TV shows began to expand internationally, with Noddy becoming the most recognised children's character in France in 2003 and sold to Chinese publishers in 2004,^[30] and airing in the US on PBS Kids in 2005.^[31]

As well as the commission and launch of various new TV productions, the period immediately following Waheed Alli's elevation to the Chairmanship was marked by a series of high-profile acquisitions of new properties. In April 2004, after several months of negotiations,^[32] Chorion acquired the distribution rights to the Roger Hargreaves Mr. Men series for £28 million.^[33] This acquisition was followed up in May 2005 with total ownership of the Hargreaves estate and the rights to produce new TV series.

In July 2005, Chorion made a major step towards becoming an international business when it bought UK-based^[34] Silver Lining Productions.^[35] Along with an office in New York City,^[36] this acquisition gave Chorion ownership of the media and merchandise rights to The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Olivia by Ian Falconer, and Max & Ruby and Timothy Goes To School, both by Rosemary Wells.

2006–2011: Take-private and international expansion

In early 2006, Alli led a management buyout of the company^[37] backed by private equity firm 3i Group Plc.^[38] In May 2006, this process was completed when Chorion delisted from the AIM exchange to become a private limited company.^[39][40]

 

Peter Rabbit, (1901). Chorion developed a TV series based on the book, in collaboration with Nickelodeon in the US

Waheed Alli served as chief executive officer and Executive Chairman, and pursued a strategy of developing and launching one new children's property every year.^[41] This development strategy included the launch of a new series of Noddy in 2007, an animated version of the Mr. Men in 2008, the US launch of Olivia in 2009, the British launch of The Octonauts in 2010, Gaspard and Lisa in 2011 and a new CGI-animated version of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit in 2012. This production was a joint venture with US broadcaster Nickelodeon and British publisher Frederick Warne & Co, part of the Penguin Group.

The launch of The Octonauts represented a big hit for the company, achieving on-air ratings for the show as number one in the key demographic of boys aged 4 to 6.^[42] Chorion announced in 2010 that they had signed international toy makers Fisher Price as the master toy partner for the brand, with a full toy line launching in the UK in August 2011.^[43]

The development of a new series of Peter Rabbit was made possible by Chorion's acquisition in November 2007 of the Copyrights Group, a competing intellectual property management company who managed the licensing and merchandising rights to the Beatrix Potter series, owned by Frederick Warne, part of the Penguin Group. The company also owned the rights to Paddington Bear, and managed Spot the Dog by Eric Hill, The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, and The Horrible Histories book series.

2011–2012: Sale of assets

On 24 August 2011, chairman and CEO Waheed Alli along with Deputy Chairman William Astor announced to the company that they would be resigning their positions^[44] following the failure of the company's lenders to reach an agreement to restructure Chorion's debt burdens.^[45] Shortly thereafter, private equity owners 3i began a process to sell Chorion's assets:

• 22 September 2011 - The Octonauts franchise and the estate of Beatrix Potter were purchased by Waheed Alli, under his new children's entertainment company Silvergate Media, which he founded after leaving Chorion.^[46]
• October 2011 - Nicholas Durbridge and Linda Pooley re-acquired The Copyrights Group.^[47] The company was ultimately acquired by StudioCanal in June 2016.^[48]
• 6 December 2011 - Sanrio purchased THOIP and Mister Men Limited, the holding companies for the Mr. Men and Little Miss brands as well as its associated merchandise business, and placed them under a new UK-based subsidiary - Sanrio Global Limited.^[49]
• 29 February 2012 - Acorn Media Group purchased Agatha Christie Limited, the holding company for the Agatha Christie estate.^[50]
• 7 March 2012 - Classic Media purchased the Noddy and Olivia properties.^[51][52] Later on in the year, DreamWorks Animation would purchase Classic Media, who ultimately were purchased by NBCUniversal in 2016.
• 15 March 2012 - The Rights House and PFD purchased the estates of Dennis Wheatley, Margery Allingham, Nicolas Freeling and Edmund Crispin.^[53]
• 26 March 2012 - Hachette UK purchased the Enid Blyton estate, except for Noddy.^[54]
• 30 March 2012 - Canadian animation studio Nelvana (who already produced the respective television series of the same name) purchased a stake in the Max & Ruby franchise (with Rosemary Wells retaining the other half), including worldwide licensing rights.^[55]

List of unlicensed productions

Children's estate

• Gaspard and Lisa
• Spot the Dog
• The Snowman
• The Story of Tracy Beaker
• Maisy Mouse
• Horrible Histories
• Flower Fairies

Literary estates

• The Works of Raymond Chandler including Philip Marlowe
• The Works of Georges Simenon including Inspector Maigret

List of productions

Children's estate

• Peter Rabbit and The World of Beatrix Potter (sold to Silvergate Media, now Sony Pictures Television Kids)
• Paddington Bear (now owned by StudioCanal)
• Mr. Men (sold to Sanrio)
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The World of Eric Carle (now owned by Penguin Random House)
• Octonauts (sold to Silvergate Media, now Sony Pictures Television Kids)
• Olivia (Sold to Classic Media (Later owned by DreamWorks Animation and NBCUniversal))
• The Works of Enid Blyton (sold to Hachette UK, except Noddy)
  • Noddy (Sold to Classic Media (Later owned by DreamWorks Animation and NBCUniversal))
  • Malory Towers
  • The Famous Five
  • The Secret Seven
  • Five Find-Outers
• The Works of Rosemary Wells (sold to Nelvana)
  • Max & Ruby
  • Timothy Goes To School

Literary estates

• The Works of Agatha Christie including Poirot and Miss Marple (sold to Acorn Media Group)
• The Works of Margery Allingham (sold to The Rights House and PFD)
• The Works of Edmund Crispin (sold to The Rights House and PFD)
• The Works of Nicolas Freeling (sold to The Rights House and PFD)
• The Works of Dennis Wheatley (sold to The Rights House and PFD)

References

1. "CHORION RIGHTS LIMITED - Overview (Free company information from Companies House)".
2. "CHORION (IP) LIMITED - Overview (Free company information from Companies House)".
3. "CHORION LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 27 February 2002. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
4. AWN (17 April 2007). "Nickelodeon & Chorion To Bring Olivia Book Series to TV". Animation World Network. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
5. Chris Tryhorn, City correspondent (10 February 2005). "Chorion buys Chandler rights". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
6. . 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021.
7. "Urbium PLC – page 2 | International Directory of Company Histories". Findarticles.com. 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
8. "Chorion | Business". The Guardian. UK. 8 September 1999. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
9. . biographicon.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
10. Andrew Clark (5 January 2001). "At this price? Chorion | Business". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
11. Andrew Clark (19 October 2000). "At this price? Chorion | Business". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
12. "Article: Chorion plans demerger to improve performance.(Brief Article) | AccessMyLibrary – Promoting library advocacy". AccessMyLibrary. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
13. "Chorion demerger delayed while hunt is on for book deals – Business News, Business". The Independent. UK. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 17 October 2011.^{[dead link]}
14. . Archived from the original on 6 April 2001.
15. "Chorion buys Sugar Reef and Red Cube". 28 June 2001.
16. "Urbium PLC: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
17. "LONDON PAVILION LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
18. "CHORION LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
19. ^{[bare URL PDF]}
20. "Welcome to the new mad.co.uk". Mad. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
21. Owen Gibson (4 December 2002). "Lord Alli teams up with Noddy". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
22. Finance (14 December 2003). "Hands off Noddy!". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
23. https://citywire.com/wealth-manager/news/chorion-warns-and-puts-noddy-up-for-sale/a243600 ^{[bare URL]}
24. "TV AND RADIO | Noddy to make TV return". BBC News. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
25. "Five in deal with Chorion over Blyton rights – Business News, Business". The Independent. UK. 17 September 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2011.^{[dead link]}
26. Owen Gibson (4 December 2002). "Lord Alli teams up with Noddy". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
27. "Chorion tracks down TV sleuth deals". Evening Standard. London. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
28. Stephen Brook (26 May 2005). "Famous Five make TV comeback". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
29. "Back for more jolly japes: the return of the Famous Five – Media, News". The Independent. UK. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
30. "Noddy motors into Chinese market". BBC News. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
31. "(PRN) New Make Way for Noddy(TM) Episodes Premiering This Fall on PBS KIDS(R)". Chron. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
32. "Chorion wants to be Mr Quick". The Guardian. UK. 16 December 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
33. . Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
34. "Silver Lining Productions Limited". Duedil. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
35. "Business | Noddy embarks on global adventure". BBC News. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
36. Cosima Marriner (26 July 2005). "Chorion buys caterpillar for US drive | Business". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
37. . X Media Lab. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
38. Chris Tryhorn (23 February 2006). "Chorion agrees £111m buyout". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
39. . Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
40. . Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
41. "CHORION: International Brand Strategy Drives 35% Revenue Growth, Profits Up 63%". Business Wire. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
42. . booktrade.info. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
43. Licensing (27 January 2010). "Chorion Licenses Octonauts to Fisher-Price". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
44. Mark Sweney (25 August 2011). "Lord Alli to quit Mr Men owner Chorion | Media". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
45. Edgecliffe, Andrew (25 August 2011). "Astor and Alli to quit Mr Men manager". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
46. John Plunkett (22 September 2011). "Chorion sells rights to The World of Beatrix Potter and The Octonauts". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
47. http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/copyrights-group-splits-chorion ^{[dead link]}
48. "StudioCanal Acquires Paddington Bear Intellectual Rights". 20 June 2016.
49. Mark Sweney (6 December 2011). "Mr Men bought by Hello Kitty owner". The Guardian. UK.
50. Sweney, Mark (29 February 2012). "Acorn Media buys stake in Agatha Christie estate". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
51. Kemp, Stuart (7 March 2012). "U.S. Group Classic Media Grabs Rights to Iconic British Creation Noddy From Chorion". The Hollywood Reporter.
52. Rusak, Gary (8 March 2012). "Classic Media acquires Noddy". Kidscreen.
53. Williams, Charlotte (15 March 2012). "Rights House and PFD snap up crime estates". The Bookseller.
54. "Hachette snaps up Blyton estate | the Bookseller".
55. "Nelvana acquires Max & Ruby".

External links

• Chorion website