In a recent episode of the Peachtree Point of View podcast, CEO Greg Friedman sat down with Joshua Harris, managing partner and executive producer and Emily Crooke, director investment strategies for Peachtree Group to discuss an often misunderstood but highly profitable investment strategy: film finance.
While Peachtree Group is widely recognized for its commercial real estate investments, many aren't aware of the firm’s growing media finance division. As Friedman explains, this expansion stems from the core philosophy of uncovering niche and non-traditional opportunities where risk is mispriced to its advantage, driving outsized returns on its investments.
What makes Peachtree's approach to film finance unique? Unlike traditional film investors who take substantial creative risk hoping for the next blockbuster, Peachtree operates strictly as senior lender. Drawing on his 25+years of experience in financial services and media finance, Josh has developed a conservative underwriting approach that mirrors Peachtree's private credit lending strategy.
"People don't understand the difference between investing in film and lending in film," he explains. "We're not making an investment of capital into something that's just based off of a script."
Instead, Peachtree advances against three forms of collateral:
1. Distribution agreements from major players likeNetflix, Sony, and Amazon
2. Tax incentives from film-friendly states and countries
3. Carefully selected unsold territories with significantintrinsic value
Emily Crooke frames it simply: "In film finance, it's really, in simplistic terms, accounts receivables-based lending." She compares it to pre-selling condo units to use as collateral for construction financing.
A critical risk mitigation factor is the requirement for completion guarantees. Every Peachtree-financed film is protected by an AAA-rated bond company that monitors production spending and guarantees [on-time, on-budget] delivery. This eliminates both creative risk (will the film be good?) and production risk (will the film be finished?).
The result? Debt investments with equity-like returns. By leveraging their expertise and banking relationships, Peachtree achieves "strong 20s and 30s percent" yields at the investment level.
With approximately a dozen completed films ranging from $5million to $80 million budgets, Peachtree Group is scaling up to finance around 12 films annually. The portfolio already includes an $80 million Guy Ritchie film hitting theaters this summer.
For investors seeking diversification with similar risk-reward profiles to private credit lending commercial real estate, this emerging alternative presents an intriguing opportunity. The complete podcast offers deeper insights into how Peachtree's disciplined underwriting approach translates to this growing asset class.
Listen to the full episode of Peachtree Point of View to learn more about this innovative investment strategy that delivers "equity type outcomes" with carefully managed downside protection.
Deadline – Sci-fi comedy Alpha Gang is adding star power with Chris Pine, Lily-Rose Depp, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. joining the cast. Directed by David and Nathan Zellner, the film tells the story of aliens sent to conquer Earth who begin to feel human emotions and fall in love, jeopardizing their mission.
The Zellner brothers, known for their offbeat storytelling, are producing alongside Adele Romanski, David Harari, and others, with XYZ Films handling sales. The film begins production this summer.
Peachtree Group is among the investors backing the project, continuing its momentum in supporting creative storytelling and independent film production.
The Hollywood Reporter | Mark Waters (Mean Girls) directs Hershey from a script by Sharon Paul and Timothy Michael Hayes. Paul, Mark Tilghman, Mary Aloe, Joshua Harris and Will Hardy produce the film. Hershey hails from Dandelion Media in collaboration with the Hershey Entities and in association with Aloe Entertainment, Peachtree Group and RCM3.
Ahead of Cannes, Vertical has acquired North American rights to We Bury the Dead, a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Star Wars‘ Daisy Ridley and Brenton Thwaites (Titans).
We Bury the Dead is a Penguin Empire production in partnership with Campfire Studios. Major production investment came from Screen Australia in association with Screen west, Lottery west and the WA Regional Screen Fund, with production financing provided by Peachtree Media Partners.
Read the full story on Deadline.