W. Chump & Sons
Company typeLimited company
IndustryTelevision production
GenreFactual entertainment automotive journalism
Founded2015
HeadquartersPower Road Studios, Power Road, Chiswick,
London
Owners
ParentChump Holdings
Divisions
  • W. Chump & Sons
  • W. Chump & Sons Productions
  • W. Chump & Sons (Mugs & T-shirts)

W. Chump & Sons Ltd[1] is an independent television production company founded in July 2015 in the United Kingdom.[2] The company is headquartered on Power Road, Chiswick, London, and owned by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman. The directors of the company are the former presenters and producer of the MPH Show and Top Gear Live exhibition tours, and the Top Gear-series produced for BBC Television until early 2015.

Two of the directors, Clarkson and Wilman previously owned a similar company called Bedder 6 up until 2012 when it was sold to BBC Worldwide.[3]

Company

Chump Holdings Limited is the holding company for the group of companies.[4] The relationship between Clarkson, Hammond, May and Wilman and control of the company is covered by a 46-page Articles of Incorporation.[5][6] The company name includes the initial letters of the directors' surnames.[7]

In August 2015 property agency Martin Burke & Associated were tasked with finding a suitable office with "generous car parking space" in Hammersmith, Chiswick or Notting Hill.[8] In October 2015 W. Chump & Sons took a three-year lease on an office at Power Road Studios in Chiswick—at the time leased from Sapcote Group—paying £38 per square-foot.[9][10] The building containing the offices was subsequently sold by Sapcote to Helical Bar.[11]

A second company, W. Chump & Sons Productions Limited (company number 09715710) was founded in September 2015 with Andy Wilman as its sole director.[12] The companies use the registered office of legal firm Olswang at 90 High Holborn, London.

In mid-December 2015 Clarkson stated to Jeremy Paxman of the Financial Times that "serious business folk who want to be in on what looks set to be a roaring success will have to carry business cards bearing their name and rank in the hierarchy of, for example, W Chump and Sons (mugs and T-shirts)".[13] One week later, a third company W. Chump & Sons (Mugs & T-Shirts) Limited (company number 09928481) was incorporated on 23 December 2015 and made up of the four main directors, plus Ernesto Schmitt formerly of Beamly and EMI Music.[14]

A further company called Newincco 1361 with Olswang's solicitor Mark Devereux as its sole director, applied for the the trademark "Gear Knobs" in July 2015, a second trademark application for "Speedbird" was later withdrawn.[15][16][17][18]

Cars

In late-2015 the organisation acquired several Reliant Robin three-wheelers as company cars.[13][19][20]

Amazon

In July 2015 the directors of W. Chump & Sons had signed contracts with the online broadcaster Amazon Video to join a list of original programs distributed by Amazon and produce 36 episodes of a motoring-related programme.[21] The deal was arranged by Chris Bird and Conrad Riggs of Amazon.[22] The first series was scheduled to be distributed to Amazon Prime's online customers from late-2016.[19] Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos described the deal as being "very, very, very expensive".[23]

Filming

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Untitled Amazon motoring show. (Discuss)

In October 2015 location shooting of a segment involving Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder cars took place at Algarve International Circuit near Portimão, in Portugal.[24][20] The Portimão Council stated that the film shoot was expected to have a big impact on the local tourism market.[25] In addition to filming by W. Chumps & Sons with Clarkson, Hammond and May; automative journalists Chris Harris, Tiff Needell and Marino Franchitti used the same cars to produce a segement for Chris Harris on Cars.[26]

In early December 2015 the team spent several days filming with Maserati Biturbo 430 cars around Le Havre, Honfleur, and the Port of Le Havre in northern France.[27][28] A stunt double wearing a mask resembling Richard Hammond's head was present.[28][29] Two of the presenters had been unable to travel to the filming location.[30][31]

References

  1. ^ "W. Chump & Sons Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Company number 09668527
  2. ^ Campelli, Matthew (13 August 2015). "Clarkson and Wilman's indie recruiting for Amazon series". W. Chump & Sons, the indie set up by Andy Wilman and Jeremy Clarkson, has begun crewing up for its ambitious new motoring series for Amazon Prime Video.
  3. ^ Conlan, Tara; Sabbagh, Dan (27 September 2012). "Top Gear deal nets Jeremy Clarkson multi-million pound payout". Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Chump Holdings Limited". Companies House. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Incorporated on: 2 October 2015
  5. ^ Methven, Nicola (20 October 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson makes deal with James May and Richard Hammond in case they fall out". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 23 December 2015. a 46-page document to sort out what happens if they ever fell out. … each have an equal 25% stake in umbrella firm Chump Holdings – logged at Companies House on October 6. … document, written by law firm Olswang, covers topics including decision-making, conflicts of interests, removal of directors and errors and disputes. … Chump Holdings contains their TV-making arm W. Chump and Sons Productions and another business W. Chump and Sons Ltd which could deal with other areas such as merchandise and any live tours.
  6. ^ Olswang. "Company Number 9806001 Chump Holdings Limited" (Certificate of Incorporation of a Private Limited Company). Companies House. pp. 1–46.
  7. ^ Singh, Anita (1 August 2015). "Top Gear stars drive $380m TV deal". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Clarkson, Hammond and May - along with former Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman - will make the show and take a cut of profits from merchandising and tours through their new production company, W Chump & Sons (the title incorporates the initials of their surnames).
  8. ^ "Top Gear trio seeking office space" (PDF). Property Week. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Agency Martin Burke & Associates has been tasked with finding 5,000 sq ft of space for W Chump & Sons, the company set up by the trio along with former Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman. The firm is seeking office space in Hammersmith and Chiswick, but could also consider moving to Notting Hill. One of the main requirements of the new base is generous car parking space.
  9. ^ Branson, Adam (29 October 2015). "Clarkson and co. rev into Chiswick". Property Week. three year lease on 5,495 sq ft of office space at Power Road Studios, Chiswick.
  10. ^ "Clarkson and ex Top Gear boys rev into Chiswick". Hanover Green. The space, leased from Sapcote Group, will be the home for their new production company W Chump & Sons, which will be making the group's new motoring show on Amazon Prime. … rent equates to £38/sq ft. … Hanover Green acted for Sapcote.
  11. ^ "City Spy: Jeremy Clarkson gets his perfect landlord in Helical Bar's Mike Slade". Evening Standard. London. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. The Chiswick building in which Clarkson and chums' production company W Chump & Sons leases offices has been bought by Helical Bar
  12. ^ "W. Chump & Sons Productions Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Company number 09715710
  13. ^ a b Paxman, Jeremy (18 December 2015). "Lunch with the FT: Jeremy Clarkson". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 December 2015. serious business folk who want to be in on what looks set to be a roaring success will have to carry business cards bearing their name and rank in the hierarchy of, for example, "W Chump and Sons (mugs and T-shirts)".
  14. ^ "W. Chump & Sons (Mugs & T-Shirts) Limited". 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Company number 09928481
  15. ^ Horton, Helena (17 September 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson's new Amazon Top Gear-style show could be called Gear Knobs". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 'Gear Knobs' is trademarked to new company Newincco 1361 Limited which has also trademarked 'Gear Nobs', and the name 'Speedbird' which is speculated to be a charater [sic] on the show.
  16. ^ "Newincco 1361 Limited". Retrieved 23 December 2015. Company number 09587459
  17. ^ "Trade mark: Gear Knobs". Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom). Retrieved 23 December 2015. Trade mark UK00003113115 … Filing date: 12 June 2015 … Status: Registered
  18. ^ "Trade mark: Speedbird". Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom). Trade mark UK00003119849 … Filing date: 28 July 2015 … Status: Withdrawn
  19. ^ a b Thomas, Kate (26 November 2015). "Full speed ahead! Jeremy Clarkson takes Reliant Robins for a spin with James May and Richard Hammond as they film new Amazon Prime motoring show". Retrieved 23 December 2015. filming a humorous sequence in their very own Reliant Robins. … dinky three-wheeled vehicles from W. Chump and Sons, the production company behind the series. … May confirmed the series will debut on online streaming service Amazon Prime in the autumn of 2016
  20. ^ a b "Jeremy Clarkson faces backlash over 'fracas' jokes". The Week. Dennis. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. scene for the Amazon show featured three Robins, each emblazoned with the name of Clarkson's new production company: W Chump and Sons Ltd. … Clarkson's new production company, W Trump and Sons of London, has already begun filming for the as-yet untitled show for Amazon Prime. The first shoot took place at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal where Clarkson, Hammond and May raced three of the world's most expensive supercars – a McLaren P1, a Ferrari LaFerrari and a Porsche 918 Spyder.
  21. ^ "Clarkson delighted with terms of new Amazon show". 2 August 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015. The new motoring show, which will be available to Amazon Prime customers next year, will feature at least 36 episodes over three years.
  22. ^ Barraclough, Leo (31 July 2015). "Why Jeremy Clarkson's 'Top Gear' Team Went to Amazon". Retrieved 23 December 2015. will be 12 episodes in each of the three seasons, and each episode will run for around an hour. … deal was brokered by Amazon U.K. film and TV strategy director Chris Bird and Conrad Riggs, the U.S. company's head of TV production. ((cite magazine)): Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  23. ^ Quinn, James (16 August 2015). "Amazon's Jeff Bezos: With Jeremy Clarkson, we're entering a new golden age of television". Daily Telegraph. Seattle. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Bezos [said] he's "very excited" about the concept. … the show will be "very, very, very expensive," for Amazon. "They're worth a lot and they know it."
  24. ^ Wareing, Charlotte; Merriman, Rebecca (7 October 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson teases first day on set for Amazon Prime alongside Richard Hammond and James May". Mirror. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Production has begun on Clarkson and co's Amazon Prime show
  25. ^ Bratley, Carrie-Marie (8 October 2015). "Clarkson, Hammond and May filming new show in Algarve". Portimão Council, the municipality in which the racetrack is located, said once the footage airs, in terms of tourism promotion it will have "a big impact on the outbound market" and is "significant action for us as a destination."
  26. ^ Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (20 November 2015). "LaFerrari, P1 And 918 Spyder Tested By Chris Harris: Video". Motor Authority. Retrieved 23 December 2015. Chris Harris … at a race track in Portimao, Portugal, and joining him is fellow journo Tiff Needell as well as racing driver Marino Franchitti. … same track and set of cars that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May used … for … their new show produced by Amazon.
  27. ^ Frebou, Christophe (4 December 2015). "Les ex présentateurs de «Top Gear» tournent au Havre". fr:Paris Normandie (in French). Retrieved 27 December 2015. Depuis quatre jours et jusqu'à ce soir, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond et James May prennent part au tournage d'une nouvelle émission entre Honfleur, Deauville et Le Havre. … Sur Amazon Prime … Depuis jeudi, c'est dans et autour de plusieurs hangars de la zone portuaire … qu'ils martyrisent trois Maserati 430 bi turbo (moteur V6 de 2.8 l)
  28. ^ a b O'Shea, Gary (8 December 2015). "Richard Hammond and Chris Evans filming new car shows using lookalikes". The Sun. Retrieved 27 December 2015. A driver wearing a Richard mask was spotted shooting scenes for Amazon's new Clarkson-Hammond-May series in Honfleur, France.
  29. ^ Bryant, Tom (7 December 2015). "All is not as it seems on Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May's new show". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 27 December 2015. One of the drivers was pictured driving Hammond's Maserati while wearing a mask of the presenter
  30. ^ Media Monkey (30 November 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson and co nursing (self-inflicted) wounds after O2 live show". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2015. Ex-Top Gear presenters experiencing problems getting to 'first big shoot'
  31. ^ Young, Matthew (30 November 2015). "Jeremy Clarkson goes on boozy bender night before first show". Daily Star. Retrieved 27 December 2015. Fans poked fun at boozy Jeremy Clarkson for struggling to get to his new motoring show's first day of filming.


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