Hackman Capital Partners Raises $1.6 Billion to Invest in Media Assets in Top Production Markets Around the World

The HCP Studio Fund will capitalize on Hackman Capital Partners’s and the MBS Group’s (an HCP affiliate) global leading and best in class studio platform.

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hackman Capital Partners (“HCP”), a privately held, real estate investment and operating company focused on acquiring and actively managing studio, media and commercial real estate properties, announced today the final close of HCP Studio Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund closed on $1.4 billion of commitments, exceeding its initial target of $1 billion and its initial cap of $1.25 billion. HCP also closed on the Fund’s co-investment commitments of $200 million in equity capital bringing the total committed equity capital to $1.6 billion. Investors in the Fund comprise a diverse mix of global institutions including sovereign wealth funds, public and corporate pensions, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and family offices, among others.

The Fund is focused on acquiring studio and media assets with attractive in-place income and growth potential in top production markets across the world. The Fund will leverage Hackman’s 35-year track record, deep industry relationships and operational expertise to source investment opportunities and create value through property performance optimization and strategic studio developments. In addition, HCP’s ownership of affiliate The MBS Group, a global leading and best in class studio advisory and production and equipment services company, will generate long-term cash flow through the provision of production services and studio-based equipment rentals.

“We are pleased to have completed this institutional capital raise for the studio and media strategy and are grateful for the strong support from our new investment partners,” said Michael Hackman, CEO of Hackman Capital Partners. “We have built a unique and highly differentiated platform that has established Hackman as the premier owner and operator of independent film and television studios. Combined with our longstanding industry relationships, we provide a sustainable competitive advantage, and are well capitalized to execute on a strong pipeline of investment opportunities.”

HCP is established as the preeminent independent owner and operator of studio and media assets, having invested over $8 billion since inception, including marquee studios such as The Culver Studios, Silvercup Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Radford Studio Center and Television City Studios. HCP has created a powerful platform that provides production real estate and studio services to many of the world’s most prominent media companies including Amazon, Apple, ABC, CBS, Disney, HBO, Marvel, Netflix, Sony, Showtime and Warner Brothers.

As of Q2 2022, the Fund is approximately 50% invested and committed and has made seven investments to a total of $488 million of Fund equity capital. Select Fund investments include:

• Eastbrook & The Wharf Studios in London: Eastbrook Studios London is a 21.5-acre fully entitled development site that Hackman will transform into a production facility with 12 soundstages and 240,000 square feet of production support and office space. Located four miles from Eastbrook, Hackman also redeveloped The Wharf Studios London, into a production facility with 7 sound stages that were pre-leased. Together, the campuses will total approximately 679,993 square feet.

• Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York: The iconic studio facility in Queens comprises 11 production stages totaling approximately 147,000 square feet, in addition to 207,000 square feet of office, 35,000 square feet of backlot, and 126,000 square feet of support space. The purchase also included a 52,000-square-foot commercial property across the street, which will be redeveloped into a 12,000-square-foot stage and 8,000-square-foot support space.

• Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles: The property sits on a 55-acre site in Studio City and consists of over 1 million square feet of space, including 22 stages, production office and support buildings, third-party tenant offices, a purpose-built broadcast center and filmable backlot locations. Known as “hit city” for its long history of highly successful production clientele, past tenants include well-known and beloved productions like Gilligan’s Island, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Seinfeld and Big Brother, currently in production.

Other assets in the Fund include the Raleigh & Saticoy Studios in Los Angeles; Ardmore & Troy Studios in Limerick and Bray, Ireland; Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld, Scotland; and the Greystones Media Campus in Greystones, Ireland. HCP acquired each of these assets with its joint venture partner Square Mile Capital Management.

Hodes Weill Securities, LLC, a global real estate advisory firm, acted as the exclusive financial advisor and global placement agent to Hackman.

About Hackman Capital Partners and The MBS Group

Hackman Capital and The MBS Group have developed a global leading and best in class film and television studio platform. In addition to owning, operating, and developing its own studio assets, the platform manages studios for other studio owners and provides global content creators with comprehensive production services and studio-based equipment rentals.

Hackman Capital Partners’ unrivaled portfolio of 18 studio assets includes 120 active sound stages, plus another 90 in development, and totals over 10 million square feet across North America, the UK and Scotland. These include The Culver Studios, Radford Studio Center, Television City Studios, MBS Media Campus, Raleigh Studios, Saticoy Studios, Sony Pictures Animation Studios in Los Angeles; Silvercup Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York; Second Line Stages in New Orleans; Wardpark Studios in Scotland; Ardmore Studios, Troy Studios in Ireland; The Wharf London in the UK—and in development, Eastbrook Studios London in the UK, Greystones Media Campus in Ireland, and Basin Media Studios and Downsview Studios in Toronto.

The MBS Group is the industry’s preeminent studio operating and production services company. The company exclusively supports more than 550 existing sound stages and more than 450 productions per year from its network of 100 locations across seven countries. Its leadership team has designed and constructed more than 25 studios with 115 sound stages and ancillary facilities, totaling over 3,500,000 square feet.

For more information about Hackman Capital, please visit: www.hackmancapital.com
For more information about The MBS Group, please visit: the-mbsgroup.com

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