Development being brought forward by French investor will see half of former BBC site transformed
McLaren has been appointed main contractor for the transformation into the former BBC Elstree Centre in Hertfordshire into a state-of-the-art film and TV campus.
As part of an effort to raise funds, the BBC agreed to sell the entire historic film studio at the start of last year to French investment manager Axa IM Alts, which was granted planning consent for the site at the end of last year.
Axa, the developer of 22 Bishopsgate and 63 St Mary Axe in the City of London, was in January integrated into BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, which had acquired the firm in July 2026.
The French financial services giant has now announced that McLaren as the contractor on the job, tasked with redeveloping half of the 16-acre site to create a 266,000 sq ft campus for “high-end TV and independent film”.
The regeneration will more than quadruple stage space and add new workshops, offices and a cafe, with the redeveloped studios intended to be operational by late 2027.
The BBC will continue to occupy the rest of the site, where it films popular soap opera EastEnders, under a long-term lease.
The historic campus, which first opened as a film studio in 1914, will be rebranded as Fairbanks Studios, recalling its ownership in the 1950s by Hollywood actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Paul Serkis, director of studios projects at McLaren Construction, comments, “Film and high-end TV production is one of the success stories of the UK economy and there is a real and pressing demand for high quality production space here.
“Approved schemes in the right locations need to come out of the ground quickly to meet that demand and take full advantage of the sector’s growth potential.”
McLaren’s team includes Harringtons Builders on groundworks, with Halsall handling MEP.
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