‘Sherlock’ producer Hartswood Films acquired by ITV Studios

ITV Studios has acquired a majority stake in Hartswood Films, the production company behind the Emmy-winning series ‘Sherlock’.

Founded in 1979, Hartswood is Britain’s longest-established script producer. Under the leadership of CEO Sue Vertue, Hartswood Films has created numerous notable series, including the recent ITVX and ITV1 hit ‘Douglas Is Cancelled’ and Prime Video’s ‘The Devil’s Hour’.

Based in London and Cardiff, the company works with a range of talent, including writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Stanley Tucci and Karen Gillan.

Hartswood’s recent productions include ‘Dracula’ and ‘Inside Man’ for BBC and Netflix, as well as ‘Wolf’ and ‘The Control Room’ for BBC. Their flagship series “Sherlock” has been sold to more than 200 countries around the world.

ITV Studios will handle international distribution for future Hartswood Films assignments.

Julian Bellamy, managing director of ITV Studios, said: “From ‘Men Behaving Badly’ to ‘Sherlock’, ‘The Devil’s Hour’ to ‘Douglas is Cancelled’, Hartswood Films has been a huge part of the TV landscape for decades. They have a hard-won reputation as brilliant producers of high-quality, ambitious and highly successful scripted television. I am delighted to welcome them to ITV Studios.”

Sue Vertue, CEO Hartswood Films, added: “Hartswood is not known for making hasty decisions and it has taken us 40 years to make these: we are therefore delighted that we have chosen to work with ITV Studios. We have always been open to investment if we could meet like-minded people who understood the need for independence that is at the ‘core’ of Hartswood, while bringing us a whole new range of strengths and skills. We are a small company and have done very well on our own, but we couldn’t be more excited about a bigger future and what we can achieve together with ITV Studios.”

This acquisition furthers ITV’s strategy to expand its international content business. Hartswood Films joins other recent additions to the ITV Studios group including Quay Street Productions, Happy Prince, Poison Pen Studios and Plimsoll Productions.