Axis Studios appoints Interpath as joint administrators

Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators of Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFX Limited, both trading as Axis Studios.

Based in Glasgow and with a presence in Bristol, Axis is an animation and visual effects studio having worked on large projects in the TV, film and video game industries.

It had been developing animations in Scotland since 2000 and by 2008, had grown to become Scotland’s “largest” animation studio.

Following their appointment on 15 July 2024, the joint administrators have unfortunately had to cease production of all projects immediately and 162 employees have been made redundant.

The joint administrators are seeking operators to continue with the live projects.

A small number of employees will be retained by the joint administrators to assist with the orderly wind down and transfer of knowledge following the appointment.

McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint administrator, said: “It is a great shame to see a creative business in Scotland close its doors.

“Axis has been a studio of choice for key production companies and has produced content for household names such as the BBC, Netflix and Blizzard Entertainment. The Company experienced a high demand for its services during COVID as animation and visual effects for TV, film and video games skyrocketed.”

He added: “Unfortunately, however, Axis has more recently been impacted by a decline in customer projects, as well as increases in labour costs which have resulted in severe cash flow problems. The directors worked tirelessly to explore alternative solutions, but ultimately had to take the difficult decision to seek the appointment of administrators.”

Jacobs concluded: “Our priority is to give employees support in the first instance. We would encourage any party with an interest in Axis’ live projects to contact us immediately.”