Arts Alliance Ventures

Building companies is how this London firm describes its work. Arts Alliance Ventures partners with founders to create new products and scale them into independent businesses, putting in time as well as capital and working on only a handful of projects at once.

How the firm works with founders

It invests at an early stage, usually after the founders have identified a problem and produced a prototype, however rough. The way it works differs from company to company: someone from the team may step into a temporary operating role, for example chief financial officer, product lead or in-house lawyer, or may be called in to recruit key people. It also helps with strategy and brand development and sits on company boards. The firm points out that, unlike most investors, it is not bound to the life of a fund, which leaves it free to stay a committed supporter for the long term.

Garden Studios and virtual production

The portfolio's showpiece is Garden Studios, launched in 2020 and aiming to be the friendliest, most supportive and most sustainable film studio in central London. Its site lists eight traditional sound stages ranging from 5,000 to 24,000 square feet, plus supporting spaces. Its virtual production stage is called the jewel in the crown: instead of adding computer-generated imagery afterwards, filmmakers shoot live action inside a pre-visualised virtual world, using 3D modelling and precise camera tracking. The firm says this suits features, promos, commercials and music videos and is cheaper in time, travel and cost.

Film, education and sales

MetFilm is described as having bases at Ealing Studios and Garden Studios in London, in Berlin and in Leeds. Its school is said to be the largest private film school in the UK by student numbers, and it also has a feature film production company and a boutique sales agency. Park Circus is a worldwide film sales and distribution business representing over 20,000 titles for cinema release.

Software, sensors and sustainable wood

Other holdings include Kahoot, a Norwegian game-based learning platform, and EcoOnline, which builds software to ease workplace risk documentation. Airly supplies air quality sensors and a software platform to governments and businesses that need to monitor air and reduce emissions. SwiftComply runs a marketplace for environmental regulation in hospitality. Kebony, developed in Norway, treats softwood with a bio-based liquid in a patented process, giving a wood it recommends for decking and cladding.

Arts Alliance Ventures takes an active role in the companies it backs. It works with founders to turn an idea into a new product and then scale it as a separate business.

What Arts Alliance Ventures does

• Early-stage capital and time: invests once founders have spotted a problem and built at least a prototype.
• Interim management: team members may step in as finance chief, head of product or legal counsel.
• Recruitment: helps find key people for a founding team.
• Strategy and board seats: contributes to brand development and joins the board of directors.

Who it serves

Founders in the early stages of a venture. The firm takes on only a handful of projects at a time and is not tied to fixed fund lifetimes, so it can back companies for the long term.

Key facts

• Portfolio examples: Garden Studios, Airly, EcoOnline, SwiftComply, Park Circus, MetFilm and Kebony
• Sectors seen in the portfolio: film production, air quality monitoring, workplace safety software and environmental compliance