Fears over what may become of the troubled Ardmore Film Studios.
Security men at Ardmore Studios continue to work a 50 hour week without pay. They got their final pay packet and were let go just over a week ago.
Last Tuesday, the electricity and the phones were cut off. The men were told there was nothing left in the kitty to pay them and they were free to go.
If the security men had left, Ardmore would have just had the locks on the doors to protect the expensive equipment and studios. Former CEO at Ardmore Michael McNieve believes if security had moved off site, the assets would be quickly destroyed.
Ardmore Studios has had many downs over the last ten years. The studios were bought by the government in the mid 1970s. Things did not go as planned and Ardmore was put into voluntary liquidation in 1982. In the autumn of 1984, the 12 acres of studios, equipment and 25 acres of land were sold to Mr Mahmud Sipra for about £1 million. The sale included a government proviso that it must continue as a film studio until 1988. It is believed that Mahmud Sipra is now involved in a bank collapse in England.
They're worried about the effects of this on the Ardmore Studios future.
Michael McNieve says clarity is needed on Mahmud Sipra's financial situation.
RTÉ News contacted one of Mahmud Sipra's fellow directors in London John Whaley to see if he could shed any light on the situation. John Whaley said that Mahmud Sipra has not provided finance for the studios and they can not get in contact with him.
John Whaley suggests that Ardmore Studios should go to another investor and continue to operate. They plan to take action on putting Ardmore Studios on the market tomorrow.
Employees of the Ardmore Studios are now calling on the government to take an active part in the decisions which have to be made. Former employee Eamonn O'Higgins says the government was responsible for selling the studios into private hands and has a responsibility to make sure Ardmore remains a film facility. Michael McNieve believes that the government would have the first option on a repurchase of the studios if the Sipra owenrship collapsed.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 January 1985. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
