Axis Studios secures £250K RSA funding to expand and create 20 new jobs

The support will enable Axis Studios to enter new international markets and open new revenue streams, and to create 20 new jobs over the next 12 months.

Ms Hyslop said: “Scotland’s creative industries sector has been growing steadily for the past few years and we are committed to continuing this upward trend. The Scottish Government and our agencies continually strive to support our creative businesses to thrive and attract more companies in this important growth industry.

“Scotland’s animation sector is an innovative industry with an extremely talented workforce and enormous potential for growth. Visiting Axis today and meeting the people working here, I can see this place is bursting with creative enthusiasm and ambition. I look forward to seeing more of their work on the big screen.”

Founded in 2000, the Axis Studios group consists of Axis, Flaunt and axisVFX, with additional studios in London and Bristol supporting the Glasgow HQ.  Each location houses directors, VFX supervisors, artists and animators, who craft content for the biggest names in entertainment including Netflix, Warner Bros, BBC, Sega and Universal Studios. 

The company recently worked with Mattel to deliver two animated feature films for Monster High. It also services the visual effects market, particularly in television on shows such as Dr Who, Our Girl and Shetland.

Axis Studios has ambitious plans to further grow its business, reflected in the current doubling of its physical space at the Skypark in Glasgow to allow for a Scottish-based headcount of over 180 people.

As a result of this expansion, the company aims to dramatically increase turnover to over £15m by 2018, three times that of its 2015 turnover.  The 20 new jobs created will comprise computer graphics artists, R&D development and production managers.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for Axis – all three of our studios and locations are growing. We’ve always had a ‘get out there and get it done’ attitude and the support we've received from Scottish Enterprise has helped us achieve even more,” comments Axis Studios CEO Richard Scott.

Scottish Enterprise has worked intensively with Axis Studios over the last three years through its account management approach, providing support with projects to improve business efficiencies and ICT, and to research and enter overseas markets. 

David Smith, Sector Director at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Scotland is home to a wealth of creative and digital companies that are making a global impact. Axis Productions is a great example of this as it embarks on its next phase of scaling up, which we can support with mechanisms like Regional Selective Assistance funding.  Investing in growth and competitive advantage is critical for the long term future of Scotland’s creative industries.”

Natalie Usher, Director of Screen, Creative Scotland, commented: “As highlighted in our recently published Review of the Scottish Animation Sector, this is a sector populated by highly-skilled, talented and ambitious individuals generating excellent and innovative work; Axis is a great example of this. However, the Review also identified a number of challenges to the sustainability of businesses and careers in the sector. Support like this announced today, contributes significantly to the continued development of Scotland as an internationally significant centre for animation."

Axis Studios has won numerous industry accolades, including a prestigious Cannes Gold Lions Award, New York Festival Awards, D&AD nominations, London International Awards, Promax Awards and a Best Animation BAFTA.