Henry Birkbeck

Counsel, Reed Smith LLP

Henry regularly acts on a variety of film, TV and video game production and financing transactions, across a wide spectrum of clients. He has advised production companies, national broadcasters, studios, SVOD platforms, video game developers and apps on their production agreements for a broad range of audio-visual content.

Henry has significant experience acting for financiers on film and TV financings, including top-tier international productions. He also advises both production companies and rightsholders on the early stages of content development, including rights acquisitions and development financings.

Beyond this, Henry has experience working across the video games, podcast, music and tech industries. Henry joined Reed Smith from the London office of a magic circle firm, where he was involved in a broad variety of finance work across various industries.

Contributed to

1

The UK film and television audiovisual expenditure credit scheme

Practice Notes

Audiovisual expenditure credit (AVEC) schemeThe audiovisual expenditure credit (AVEC) scheme provides expenditure credits for qualifying British films and television programmes under Part 14A of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 (CTA 2009). Introduced by the Finance Act 2024, it replaces the film and television tax reliefs in CTA 2009, Pts 15 and 15A, subject to transitional provisions. Only a qualifying production company for a qualifying production can claim the AVEC and, in order to do so, the company must elect to treat the making of the relevant production as a separate production trade.Film tax relief was originally introduced in 2007 under the Finance Act 2006 with the aim of incentivising investment in UK productions. Since the relief was introduced, companies have made claims for 4,550 films and £7,108 million has been paid out. The relief was extended in 2013 to include television programmes. Companies have made claims for 1,965 programmes and £5,878 million has been paid out. For further detail, see: Creative Industries Statistics: September 2026.This

Tax