Bedder 6

Last updated

Bedder 6 Limited.
Company type Private
Industry Media
Founded30 October 2006;18 years ago (2006-10-30)
London, United Kingdom
Founders
Defunct12 September 2017 (2017-09-12) [1]
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
£1,800,000 (2008)

Bedder 6 was a British company, responsible for exploiting and promoting the Top Gear brand, including international sales. [2] It was founded by presenter Jeremy Clarkson and executive producer Andy Wilman in October 2006. [3] 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 [4] to the company. [5] The remaining 5000 shares were split 60/40 between Clarkson and Wilman respectively. [6]

The company posted a £1.8m post-tax profit in September 2008, giving its shareholders £700,000 in dividends. [7] 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). [8]

Bedder 6 owned 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 were at BBC White City, the building where Top Gear's offices were located. [9] Sub-Zero Events Limited is now owned by BBC Studios Distribution Limited and Brand Events.

The name of the company refers to a dormitory where both Clarkson and Wilman slept at Repton School, where dormitories are called "bedders". [10]

In 2012 BBC Worldwide took on the whole of the rights to the Top Gear brand to ensure that the BBC received all income from the show and its spinoffs. [11] In July 2015 Clarkson and Wilman, along with Richard Hammond and James May, founded production company W. Chump & Sons. The company is currently working on The Grand Tour , a motoring show for Amazon Video, which debuted on 18 November 2016 in the UK, US, Germany and Japan; then subsequently rolled out worldwide in December 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Final Gazette dissolved via voluntary strike-off". Companies House - BEDDER 6 LIMITED. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Bennett, James (4 October 2010). Television Personalities: Stardom and the Small Screen. Routledge. ISBN   9781136907487.
  3. ↑ Companies House. Company Details BEDDER 6 LIMITED Company No. 05982502
  4. ↑ Martin, Nicole (5 September 2008). "Jeremy Clarkson earned more than £300k from Top Gear company". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  5. ↑ Schreiber, Dominic (8 August 2008). "BBC invests in Clarkson's company". variety.com. Reed Business Information.
  6. ↑ Conlan, Tara (8 August 2008). "Jeremy Clarkson and BBC Worldwide become business partners". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited.
  7. ↑ Conlan, Tara (5 September 2008). "Jeremy Clarkson made more than £300k from Top Gear company". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited.
  8. ↑ "Top Gear: Jeremy Clarkson netted more than £14m from show last year". The Guardian. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Companies House. Company Details SUB-ZERO EVENTS LIMITED Company No. 06499361
  10. ↑ Ben Collins (25 February 2024). Meet My Top Gear Boss: ANDY WILMAN. YouTube. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  11. ↑ Conlan, Tara; Sabbagh, Dan (27 September 2012). "Top Gear deal nets Jeremy Clarkson multi-million pound payout". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
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