The City of Toronto has approved a proposal to install and help bankroll new ownership at Filmport. City councilors voted 31-7 in favor of allowing Britain’s Pinewood Studios Group to take control of Filmport as part of a five-year management deal. Once the final transaction is completed, Filmport will be renamed Pinewood Toronto Studios. Also in the works is new investment from the City of Toronto, Toronto real estate developer Alfredo Romano of Castlepoint Developments and pension fund investor ROI Capital, as they look to buy out studio founder and 80% stakeholder Sam Reisman of The Rose Corporation.

Paul Bronfman, owner of the Comweb Group and William F. White, will retain his 20% stake and become chairman of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Bronfman said his own contacts in L.A., and those of Pinewood, which is backed by Hollywood directors Ridley and Tony Scott, should provide a ‘two-barreled punch’ to secure big-name film and TV shoots.