Ingenious Media is proud to present two films in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, running from 6 to 15 July, moved from its usual May berth due to the pandemic.
The first, Flag Day, is directed by Sean Penn and stars his daughter Dylan in a breakout role, together with Penn himself, Josh Brolin and Katheryn Winnick. Flag Day will hold its World Premiere in the Official Competition. Following its selection announcement, MGM acquired North American distribution rights and will release the film via its marketing-distribution joint venture United Artists Releasing in August this year. Flag Day is based on Jennifer Vogel’s memoir Flim-Flam: The True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life. It tells the story of the author’s coming of age, played by Dylan Penn, over two decades while navigating a fraught relationship with her beloved, career criminal father.
The second Ingenious-backed production will screen in the new Cannes Première section. Oliver Stone’s new feature documentary about the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass, is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Sutherland and includes a team of forensics, medical and ballistics experts, historians and witnesses. The documentary comes thirty years after Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning drama JFK and will feature recently declassified evidence and testimony in relation to the President’s 1963 assassination. Altitude Film Distribution will release the film in the UK and Ireland.
In the space of just seven days, education technology company Mindful Education has won two awards for its blended learning professional courses delivered in partnership with UK colleges.
The first award win came at the Learning Excellence Awards 2021 in the Design, Content Creation and Video category, with the judges commenting that:
“The calibre of entries was high; the diversity of entries was exciting; the breadth of companies submitting entries was inspiring”.
A week later, Mindful Education then took home Best Study Resource for their AAT Level 3 Advanced Diploma course at the annual PQ Magazine Awards, which recognise the very best learners, practitioners and providers in accountancy training.
Commenting on the two award wins, Mark Mckenna, Mindful Education’s founder and Managing Director said:
Mindful Education partners with more than 55 colleges across the UK to deliver media-rich professional courses in accounting, management, law and human resources, delivering learning to thousands of students.
At Ingenious, we consider estate planning to be just one part of a comprehensive later life plan. Business Relief (BR) solutions should be approached as an investment service in their own right and not solely considered as a tax solution. Advisers should remember not to let the, “tax tail wag the investment dog.”
When it comes to undertaking BR due diligence, we have six golden rules advisers can use to position their clients for the best possible outcomes for both estate planning and later life.
Estate planning is about leaving the most to our chosen loved ones as a legacy. Individuals should therefore plan to maximise the wealth they will have to ultimately pass on to their beneficiaries, whilst considering any potential needs, such as home improvements or travel, as well as the possibility of needing to pay for care one day. As well as helping to meet any needs, strong growth is also a key weapon to counter the negative forces of inflation, so seeking a steady, long term, meaningful return is always crucial.
Costs are another guaranteed negative force on investment returns and so should be minimised. Lower costs can also reduce risk. A manager with lower fees doesn’t need to chase extra risk to cover these costs before delivering on their specified or target return, which is calculated once fees have been deducted. In addition, high costs can indicate the investment is not delivering best value to the investor, but that instead the manager is taking the significant benefit.
BR investments are investments into underlying portfolio companies, which can carry out a wide variety of BR trading activities. These companies and the markets in which they operate should be clearly understood by the adviser. BR companies tend to either own and operate assets or carry out a lending trade. Some do both. Broadly speaking, those with a higher proportion of their portfolio in physical assets will see their fortunes depend on the performance of those assets and will fluctuate on the fundamentals of the sector. Those more focused on lending should see more steady returns as they will have lent money at normally fixed rates and any market fluctuations should have less impact. The associated risks of both routes, including their sector, liquidity and valuation risks, vary widely between strategies. This should all be considered in the context of the investor. Is the trading strategy and associated risk appropriate for their profile?
When making any investment, it is crucial to purchase the asset at the correct price, taking into consideration the potential future sale value. For BR, there are two main considerations.
The first is being aware of the methodology undertaken by the manager when calculating the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the service. Owned assets tend to be more complex to value, are reliant or many variable assumptions and have more potential for subjectivity. Valuations that appear not in line with current market fundamentals or with similar services, should be assessed carefully. Lending services tend to be more transparent and less subjective to value.
The second consideration is whether the share price for incoming investors is trading at a premium to the audited NAV. If so, this should be reviewed, as it means the investor is taking on extra ‘valuation risk.’
Investors in later life do not normally wish to give up control and flexibility of their wealth to achieve estate planning or investment objectives. It can be an uncertain time and being able to adapt is key. But any access to this capital should be managed in a tax-efficient way, considering Capital Gains Tax (CGT). One way to do this is through investing with a Manager that only offers newly issued shares, rather than using matched bargains. Such shares, after a three-year holding period, should qualify for Investors’ Relief, capping CGT on any disposal at 10%, rather than the potentially higher 20%.
One in three people aged 85+ require some form of care1. As well as making the most of any investment, later life planning should seek to provide further utility, for instance, in the preparation for potential care needs. By considering the potential cost of care and practically pre-planning to meet any care needs, the investor will be equipped to make the right choices should this issue arise.
If advisers want their clients to get the most from any BR service they recommend, the use of these rules should help ensure the optimal outcomes.
1AgeUK Briefing: Health and Care of Older People in England, 2019
First published on Professional Adviser
Mindful Education has been named Edtech Company of the Year at the Global Business Tech Awards 2021 at a virtual awards ceremony held on 17 June.
Mindful Education had previously won this category at the UK Business Tech Awards in 2019, but this time faced tough competition from established international edtech company D2L – creators of the Brightspace online learning platform.
This is the third award win in the space of just a few weeks for Mindful Education, following wins at the Learning Excellence Awards and PQ Awards.
Mindful Education works in partnership with colleges, employers and training providers across the UK to deliver media-rich professional courses and apprenticeships in accounting, management, law and human resources.
Mindful Education were recently the Headline Sponsors of the Tes FE awards which took place virtually on 28th May. This event, which takes place on an annual basis, aims to celebrate the fantastic work and achievements of the further education sector.
London South East Colleges (LSEC), one of Mindful Education’s college partners, picked up three awards, including the prestigious ‘FE provider of the year’ award.
A number of our other college and training provider partners also went home winners, including:
You can watch Mark’s full speech here.
Ingenious today announces that its Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service has invested in Winnow, the technology company behind Winnow Vision, the artificial intelligence tool helping chefs cut food waste in half, as it completes its series B round of funding at $12m. Other co-investors in this fund raising round include Ingka Investments, Mustard Seed, Circularity Capital, D-Ax in addition to Ingenious. This follows a recent loan from The European Investment Bank (EIB) and in total means the firm has raised $20m in the last month, allowing it to focus on global markets.
Launched in a single staff restaurant in 2013, Winnow has been adopted by more than 1,000 sites globally and is now operating in 40 countries with offices in London, Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai, Cluj-Napoca and Iowa City. Winnow’s latest AI product Winnow Vision, the most advanced food waste technology on the market, has been developed to automate waste tracking, enabling chefs to run more profitable and sustainable kitchens. With global clients already adopting Winnow Vision, from IKEA stores through to the Armani Hotel in Dubai, the demand by companies to drive down food waste in 2019 is increasing.
Kitchens using Winnow tend to see a 40-70% reduction in food waste within 6-12 months, driving food cost savings between 2-8% in total, which improves profit margins whilst operating in an ethical manner.
Winnow Vision works by taking photos of wasted food as it’s thrown away and uses the images to train itself to recognise what has been discarded. Winnow’s systems have already reached and surpassed human levels of accuracy in identifying wasted foods. This means for clients, over time, these systems will enable their kitchens to automatically register food waste without any human interaction. Food will be thrown in the bin and the data will be captured automatically.
The transaction was led by Ingenious’ infrastructure division and represents the third investment from the Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service, following the backing of Over-C, an analytics company focused on operational performance in the workforce management market and Reactive Technologies, a world leading technology platform facilitating the transition to a low carbon future.
Ingenious Media is proud to announce that seven films produced by investee companies managed by Ingenious will showcase at the forthcoming Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.The Burnt Orange Heresy, produced by Achille Productions, has been selected as the closing film of the Venice Film Festival and will also screen at the Toronto Film Festival. Starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger this noir thriller tells the story of an art critic who is hired to steal a painting from one of the most enigmatic artists. The operation spins out of control as he becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity.
Seberg, produced by Nelly Films, narrates the true story of an FBI Agent, played by Jack O’Connell, who is assigned to investigate the iconic actress Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) when she becomes embroiled in the tumultuous civil rights movement in the late sixties in Los Angeles. The film will hold its World Premiere on the first Friday of the Venice Film Festival and subsequently at Toronto.
Military Wives, produced by Koliko Films, stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan who start a military wives choir whilst their husbands are on a tour in Afghanistan. Music and laughter transform their lives as the women help each other overcome their fear for loved ones in combat. The film will hold its World Premiere at Toronto;
Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in The Song of Names, produced by Riba Films, which will also premiere at Toronto. This emotional detective story is spread over two continents and half a century. Beneath the film’s stunning musical revelations burn the horror of a war and the lost souls extinguished from history.
Dirt Music, produced by Pelgo Films, will premiere at Toronto. The films tells the story of a woman stranded in a relationship with a man she doesn’t love, in a small fishing village on the coast of Australia. An encounter with a local pariah results in an affair that dredges up secrets and changes all of their lives. Starring Kelly MacDonald and Garrett Hedlund, and from the producers of Brooklyn and Lion the story is based on the award-winning novel by Tim Winton.
Ingenious today announces that it has led an investment round into Over-C Limited, a London-based analytics company focused on operational performance in the workforce management market. Ingenious helped raise an additional £5.5 million in equity funding, bringing the total raised to £10 million.
Over-C’s software uses artificial intelligence, data and analytics to provide industry professionals with key insights for time-critical decision making. Over-C drives behaviours that allow companies to rethink their business and operating models, better quantify risk, uncover new opportunities, reduce losses, and boost profits. The firm currently operates across the UK, Ireland and The Netherlands providing solutions for many industry sectors ranging from transport operators for rail and airports, to shopping centres, stadiums and manufacturers.
The latest round of funding was led by Ingenious’s infrastructure division and represents the second investment from the Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service, following the backing of Reactive Technologies, a world leading technology platform facilitating the transition to a low carbon future.
The investment in Over-C remains in line with the firm’s ongoing drive to seek out high-growth investment opportunities in companies active in the energy, communications, transportation and resource efficiency industries.
The success of the firm to date has been recognised nationally. Its UK partner O2, a leading digital communications company, won ‘The IOT Award’ at the annual Connected Britain Awards 2019 for O2 Smart Compliance, which is powered by Over-C. The IOT Award for 2019 was given to O2, thanks to their joint work work with ScotRail in helping to ensure the security of workers in potentially hazardous situations. ScotRail, Scotland’s national rail service provider, needed a digital solution to help them align with the Department for Transport’s requirements and standards for security and safety, such as real time information, time sensitive prompts and tamper proof records.
Patrick McKenna, founder of Ingenious, has been selected as a member of the judging panel for this year’s Achates Philanthropy Prize. He will also chair the panel for the individual prize.
The Achates Philanthropy Prize is a national campaign to promote giving to the arts. It celebrates businesses, individuals and trusts that have supported culture for the first time within the last 12 months, with the aim of encouraging cultural organisations to engage more with first-time donors to advance the arts.
There are two awards, one for a business and one for an individual or trust. The winners will be appointed as custodian of one of the two prize sculptures for a year, while their nominating cultural organisation will receive a £5,000 donation from the Achates Philanthropy Foundation.
The 2019 Call for Entries opens on Monday 1 July, and both Awards will be presented at a special event at Rich Mix on Tuesday 19 November 2019.
For more information and to find out how to apply, please visit: www.achates.org.uk.
A number of Ingenious titles were acquired for US distribution at the recent Cannes Film Festival
Sony Pictures Classics bought After The Wedding and are planning an August release with an awards campaign for both Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore. The film was produced by Magritz Productions.
Sony Pictures Classics have also bought The Song of Names. The film is likely to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and should be released in the US prior to Christmas in order to qualify for an awards run. Riba Productions produced the film.
The US distributor Bleecker Street has acquired rights to Dream Horse and Warner Bros has the UK. A number of other studios are jostling to acquire further international rights. The film is produced by Popara Films and will soon finish shooting in Wales.
Lionsgate has bought US rights to The Doorman which is currently filming in Romania. The film is produced by Gora Films.
The first film from Solstice Studios, with whom Ingenious Media has a strategic partnership, was launched for international sales. Academy Award winner Russell Crowe stars in this psychological thriller, which takes an ordinary, everyday incident to a terrifying conclusion in telling the story of a mother who leans on her car horn at the wrong time, to the wrong guy. Road rage doesn’t begin to describe what he’s about to do to her and everyone she knows. The film, titled Unhinged, is being produced by Burek Films and will commence filming in July. Solstice is targeting a release date in the US in the autumn of 2020. Click here to read more.
A number of trailers for forthcoming Ingenious backed productions have now been released:
The Informer, produced by Maddem Films, will be released by Aviron Pictures in the US in August and by Warner Bros in the UK. You can watch the trailer here.
Judy, produced by Confit Productions, will be released at the end of September in the US by Roadside Attractions with a likely awards campaign for Renee Zellweger as the eponymous heroine.
Blinded by the Light, produced by Rakija Films, was the subject of a bidding war at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will be released globally in August. EOne has a trailer for UK audiences and New Line/Warner Bros has created their own for US audiences.
