Prescience, Perpetual join forces

Posted: Sat., Nov. 5, 2011, 9:00am PTFilm financers Prescience and Perpetual have joined forces to establish Bridgeworks Capital, a new lending fund combinining Prescience's bridge activities and Perpetual's deal management resources and product flow.

Perpetual Managing Director Alastair Burlingham is heading up the new specialist lending arm, the companies announced at the American Film Market on Friday.

The new company closed its first agreements last month with "uwantme2killhim," an Anonymous Content/Bad Hat Harry/Andrew Douglas Films co-production; and "The Numbers Station," starring John Cusack, which starts shooting in late November.

Perpetual and Prescience said Bridgeworks will focus on management of short term facilities to producers and productions along with managing existing Prescience tactical funds and gradually expanding its scope of activities.

Alastair Burlingham, Perpetual and Bridgeworks capital director, said, "This will deepen our product base and materially enhance our capacity to meet the ever-increasing demand we see for bridge from suitable productions pending legal "closing" of their permanent production finance, as well as provide bespoke loan product on a project-by-project basis."

Prescience Managing Director Tim Smith noted that his company's been working with for several years in this area of financing on a co-funding basis. "It makes a great deal of sense to consolidate bridge financing, tactical and bespoke lending to films in one new entity," he added. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com