Loss of €3.4m for firm set up to produce ‘Ripper Street’

The Dublin-based firm established to produce the €20 million Ripper Street television drama recorded a pre-tax loss of €3.4m last year.

The series, which stars Matthew McFadyen and Raw’s Charlene McKenna, has been recommissioned for a third series and filming began in May at Clancy barracks in Dublin. The first two series were shot in Dublin and employed a 5,000 Irish cast, extras and crew providing 170,000 Irish work hours per series.

The series has been a major international hit — it has recorded highs of eight million viewers in Britain where it has been broadcast on BBC, while it has been sold to over 150 countries and BAFTA-nominated.

Newly filed accounts for Ripper Street Productions Ltd, however, show the firm recorded a pre-tax loss of €3.4m in the 12 months to the end of April 2013. The firm recorded revenues of €8m last year. However, cost of sales of €11m and administrative expenses totalling €453,127 contributed to the loss.

The high costs are attributable to the front-loading of costs in producing the drama and the directors say that the state of the company’s affairs are “satisfactory”. The firm had shareholder funds totalling €7.5m.

Accounts for firms involved in TV and movie production can only show revenues for their production once they have been broadcast. No one from Irish firm and parent of Ripper Street Productions Element Pictures was available for comment yesterday.

Element Pictures produced the series in conjunction with Tiger Aspect Productions and Lookout Point, with funding coming from the BBC, BBC Worldwide and the Irish Film Board.

Director of Element Pictures Andrew Lowe previously said: “We are immensely proud of the sterling work of the Irish cast and crew who have helped make Ripper Street such a critical and commercial success.”

The new series was possible after a deal was struck to give exclusive rights by Amazon for Amazon Prime Instant Video.