Booming Sheffield digital dubbing company 'confident' of hitting $100m sales

A Sheffield dubbing company is on track for $100m sales after a rise in remote working due to the pandemic.
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ZOO Digital has just raised £7.4m from a share placing to spend on hiring staff, establishing regional hubs in India and South East Asia and expanding international business.

It comes after a year which has seen the firm benefit from film and television companies making their back catalogues available for streaming. Demand has soared due to stay-at-home orders.

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Bosses expect further growth when the production of new shows resumes in earnest.

Sheffield digital firm Zoo Digital. CEO Stuart Green.Sheffield digital firm Zoo Digital. CEO Stuart Green.
Sheffield digital firm Zoo Digital. CEO Stuart Green.

Annual sales are predicted to hit $38m this year, up from $29.8m, prompting the board to state it is ‘confident of achieving its mid-term ambition of $100 million in sales’.

ZOO specialises in dubbing and subtitling films into 80 languages. But unlike rivals based in studios shuttered by the pandemic, its cloud-based tech can be used anywhere.

The firm has 7,000 freelance voice artists and translators who mostly work from home.

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Chief executive Stuart Green, said: "The structural shift to remote working within our sector has gathered pace over the last 12 months alongside the accelerated adoption of streaming services and demand for back catalogue programming.

“As a leading innovator in the sector, ZOO is well placed to address the significant and growing requirements of the global entertainment industry for our cloud-based market-leading services.

“The proceeds from this fundraise will enable ZOO to boost our R&D capabilities and expand our international business to further build on our position within the market.”

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Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor.

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