Bedder 6
| Industry | Media |
|---|---|
| Founded | London, United Kingdom (30 October 2006) |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Profit | £1,800,000 (2008) |
Bedder 6 was a British company, responsible for exploiting the Top Gear brand. It was founded by presenter Jeremy Clarkson and executive producer Andy Wilman in October 2006.[1] In November 2007, BBC Worldwide purchased 5001 shares giving them a stake of just over 50% of the business. They are believed to have paid £100 for the shares, but also transferred merchandising and some foreign sales rights[2] to the company.[3] The remaining 5000 shares are split 60/40 between Clarkson and Wilman respectively.[4]
The company posted a £1.8m post-tax profit in September 2008, giving its shareholders £700,000 in dividends.[5] By 2013 Bedder 6 had revenues of £149m, and paid out dividends of £16.2m divided between Clarkson (30%, £4.86m), Wilman (20%) and BBC Worldwide (50% £7.5m).[6]
Bedder 6 own 50% of Sub-Zero Events Limited, a joint-venture set up by BBC Worldwide and Brand Events in February 2008 to run the Top Gear Live shows. Both Bedder 6 and Sub-Zero Events' registered addresses are at BBC White City, the building where Top Gear's offices are located.[7]
Media Monkey, a columnist in The Guardian newspaper, speculated that the name Bedder 6 is a pun on 'Better sex',[8] but dormitories at Repton School, which was attended by both Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman, are called "bedders".[9]
In 2012 BBC Worldwide took on the whole of the rights to the Top Gear brand to ensure that the BBC gets all the money from the show and its spinoffs.[10] In mid-2015 the two former directors of Bedder 6, along with Richard Hammond and James May, founded production company W. Chump & Sons to produce material for Amazon Video.
References
- ↑ Companies House. Company Details BEDDER 6 LIMITED Company No. 05982502
- ↑ Martin, Nicole (2008-09-05). "Jeremy Clarkson earned more than £300k from Top Gear company". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group Limited.
- ↑ Schreiber, Dominic (2008-08-08). "BBC invests in Clarkson's company". variety.com. Reed Business Information.
- ↑ Conlan, Tara (2008-08-08). "Jeremy Clarkson and BBC Worldwide become business partners". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited.
- ↑ Conlan, Tara (2008-09-05). "Jeremy Clarkson made more than £300k from Top Gear company". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited.
- ↑ "Top Gear: Jeremy Clarkson netted more than £14m from show last year". Guardian. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ Companies House. Company Details SUB-ZERO EVENTS LIMITED Company No. 06499361
- ↑ "Media Monkey's Diary". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2008-08-11.
- ↑ "Media Monkey's Diary". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2008-08-18.
- ↑ Conlan, Tara; Sabbagh, Dan (27 September 2012). "Top Gear deal nets Jeremy Clarkson multi-million pound payout". Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2015.