C4 reveals shortlist for new HQ
May 30, 2018
Channel 4 has announced the shortlist of cities and regions which have been selected to participate in the second stage of the pitch process for the new National HQ and two new Creative Hubs, as part of its 4 All the UK strategy.
The first round pitch process was launched by Chief Executive, Alex Mahon in April where cities and regions were asked to provide written submissions by May 11th, outlining the strengths of the city or region and how it could meet Channel 4’s vision for the National HQ or Creative Hub.
Over 30 submissions were received in this first round from across the UK. These were reviewed and assessed by Channel 4 and a shortlist for the National HQ and Creative Hubs has been agreed by Mahon, Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Allan, and the Executive team.
Seven cities have been shortlisted for consideration as a National HQ or Creative Hub. And a further six have been shortlisted for consideration as a Creative Hub only. The shortlist is as follows:
National HQ or Creative Hub: Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Liverpool
Creative Hub only: Belfast, Brighton, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Newcastle-Gateshead
Each of the shortlisted cities will participate in a second stage process – which will include Channel 4 visiting each city for a presentation and Q&A. Following this, Channel 4 will engage in further discussions with cities and regions as necessary, before selecting the final locations in October 2018.
Allan, who is leading the pitch process, said: “We’ve been incredibly impressed both by the number of pitches we received and by the high quality of the submissions – which has underlined the huge amount of creativity, innovation and talent right across the UK. However we have to move to a shortlist phase and, after careful consideration by the Channel 4 Executive team, we’ve selected 13 cities that are best able to meet our vision for our new hubs in the Nations and Regions. We look forward to visiting all those on the shortlist as part of our second phase, but we will also be continuing to work with all cities and regions as part of our strategy to increase investment and support creative businesses, jobs and growth across the UK.”