2023 UK Top 50
The UK Top 50 returns with a strong and competitive field of leading production companies in brand video and corporate film.
Data tells a story. By researching the most successful producers in the UK, we can identify trends in this creative sector of the UK screen industries. The findings guide brand comms professionals, whose budgets finance the work, towards best practice, benchmarks and talent. They also enable researchers at institutions such as the BFI to assess the major players and track the emergence of new talent.
This report is an independent and objective analysis, driven by data. While subjective assessment has a valuable place in other approaches such as awards competitions, our approach strives to measure the most successful businesses in brand video and corporate film by market intelligence alone.
Methodology
We used the same methodology as the 2022 edition to provide consistent comparisons year on year, with one technical change. This year, points awarded to each producer reflected not only their position in the rankings, but also the extent to which they scored above or below their competitors. This method generated a more accurate ranking and identified standout performances in any one of the four weighted categories.
The UK Top 50 only considers performance for film and video work commissioned by organisations in the private, public and not for profit sectors. It excludes advertising and work for entertainment, such as broadcasting and streaming platforms. Work by in-house teams will be the subject of a separate report.
Many of the producers in the tables provide a wider range of services in digital and live communications.
More than 60 data points were used to assess each production business. These were categorised and verified by random testing against public data. Our advisory panel reviewed draft results and offered independent guidance.
Source data is from 2023, including producers’ most recent full year accounts and awards competitions from January to December 2023. The survey for producers’ responses was open between late November 2023 and January 2024.
The Ranking
- Casual
- DRPG
- The Edge
- RD Content
- Brunswick Creative
- Radley Yeldar
- Plastic Pictures
- Media Zoo
- WING
- Quite Frankly
- Gorilla Gorilla!
- Pukka Films
- Synima (formerly Shoot You)
- Fortemus Films
- Pretzel Films
- wtv.
- Starstruck
- We Are Tilt
- Big Button
- Taylor Made Media
- Affixxius
- Heehaw
- Studio Giggle
- Liquona
- Rocking Horse Pictures
- Kaptcha
- Inspired Films
- Speakeasy
- nrg
- Cheerful Twentyfirst
- Brickwall
- Ark Media Productions
- Dreaming Fish Productions
- BearJam Productions
- CH Video Ltd
- Reels in Motion
- Nowadays
- Inner Eye Productions
- Kinura
- Vox Pops International
- CASA Creative Studio
- lri
- Frantic
- Vermillion Films
- Zing Films
- MGV Productions
- Clockhouse Productions
- Bouche Media
- Humanoid Productions
- JB Productions
The Top 20 Movers and Fast Risers
Casual strengthened their grip on top spot after seizing it for the first time in 2022. Not only did they rank first in three of the four categories, but they also widened the winning margin with a standout performance in the Peer Poll where they received 62% more mentions than any other producer.
DRPG were the biggest risers in the top 10. In 2022 they had recently acquired A-Vision and Firehouse, who were treated as separate businesses. This year the subsidiaries were integrated into the group, in part accounting for the higher position. Their strong performance in awards competitions was another key factor.
Once again, The Edge were ranked in the top 3. We welcomed Media Zoo back to the rankings after they were unable to provide data in 2022. As the only new entrant in the top 10 in 2024, their presence is a return to business as usual after a change in ownership. They first made the top 10 in 2016 and ranked joint second with The Edge in 2019. Pretzel and wtv (formerly World Television) were two re-entrants in the Top 20. Both were regular high achievers in the Televisual Corporate 50. Cheerful Twentyfirst made a return to the top 30 after an absence in 2022, the one year they have missed since 2008.
Fastest risers
Inner Eye take top spot as the fastest risers since last year. They were up a huge 11 places, supported by recognition for fine film-making in the Peer Poll.
Kaptcha shot up eight into the top 30, lifted by a strong performance in awards competitions for high quality films that generate business results for clients. lri match DRPG in rising five, driven by their own business performance.
The highest first-time entrants were Synima in 13th place and Fortemus one place below.
Producers with Staying Power
Perhaps the most telling insights from the UK Top 50 come from seeing the long term performance of certain production houses. While each year’s results are a snapshot, multi-year analysis reveals the rise of successful new producers who bring a fresh approach, creatively and in business methods.
This is a market wide open to innovation, as shown by the rise of producers like Plastic Pictures and Media Zoo over the past decade. The Top 10 must stay exceptional to keep their places, as dynamic competitors snap at their heels.
For sheer consistency at the highest level, The Edge and Pukka stand out as the only producers to have appeared in the Top 50 in every edition since our records began in 2008. In 2023 Pukka are ranked close to their highest level, two places below 10th in 2022, while The Edge have appeared in the top four every year since 2009 – an unrivalled achievement.
The Top 10 over time reveals names that have now disappeared (Jacaranda) alongside more recent powerhouses like DRPG, Casual and Radley Yeldar. We will no doubt see further evolution over the coming years. But which producers will rise to the top?
Awards
We Are Tilt’s first appearance in the Top 50 saw them rank at 18th overall, supported by the strongest performance of any entrant in the six awards schemes we track. They dominated the golds at the Lens Awards with Video Production Company of the Year, and work for KPMG and Deloitte. They also picked up gold at Cannes.
The Edge sustained their decades-long reputation for awards with golds at EVCOM London and the New York Festivals. For Plastic Pictures, the Brand Film Awards yielded four golds as well as wins at Cannes and EVCOM London. Radley Yeldar
won in more competitions than any other ranked producer: Brand Film, Cannes, EVCOM Clarion and EVCOM London.
Peer Poll
Over the past decade, Casual and The Edge have vied with each other to top the Peer Poll. But their position is constantly being challenged. In 2019 Media Zoo edged Casual into 3rd place, and in 2022 it was Radley Yeldar and RD Content snapping at their heels.
This year, Pukka broke back into the top five as their long-established credentials continued to attract respect from competitors. While the top of the table appeared comparatively stable, there was plenty of action elsewhere.
Big Button achieved their first Peer Poll Top 10 since 2016 with their blend of production, strategic advice and measurement. Ever present in the Top 50 since 2009, Big Button have established a distinctive business model that has now seen them break into the top 20 overall.
nrg digital made the Peer Poll top 10 for the first time, just one year after making their debut in the UK Top 50.
Of the remaining 14 producers in the chart, all but Affixxius, Studio Giggle and Brunswick are making their first ever appearance in the Peer Poll.
61% more producers were nominated in the Peer Poll compared to 2022, resulting in 17 new Top 50 producers compared to last year. The increase in nominations indicates a growing awareness of the top-ranking producers, probably driven in part by the resumption of the UK Top 50 last year after a brief gap. However, a nomination in the Peer Poll alone is not enough to secure a place in the Top 50 – a strong business performance is also essential.