National Film and Television School: Expansion of Beaconsfield Studios
The National Film & Television School (NFTS) proposed a strategic expansion project to uphold its reputation as one of the world’s premier specialist film, television and games schools and to help meet the growing demand for student places that would supply skilled professionals to the sector. To be able to expand their current school in Beaconsfield, they planned to acquire adjacent land and develop a new, 25,000 sq ft. modern building on the acquired land to be able to create 15% more teaching space, costing approximately £20million.
NFTS had engaged with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to set out their ambitious plans and a commitment was made in the Spring Budget 2024 for the government to fund £10million of the expansion project. This funding was to be made available subject to completion of a Full Business Case, submitted in two stages (Outline Business Case and Full Business Case) to release the funds.
31ten was commissioned to support NFTS in preparing an HMT Green Book compliant Outline Business Case for submission to DCMS and to respond to comments received from the Department. The Outline Business Case had to be developed in a short timeframe to meet the milestone for DCMS committee meetings.
The Role
We deployed a specialist and experienced team to support NFTS in preparing the Business Case. Our role involved both critical friend and peer review on project proposals as well as writing and production of sections of the Business Case and included:
- Working closely with NFTS to assess, appraise and identify gaps in the current project proposals to meet the requirements of an HMT Treasury Green Book compliant Outline Business Case;
- Strengthening the Strategic Case with NFTS and data from the sector to help reinforce the case for change and the rationale for funding intervention;
- Broadening the options appraisal to capture a longlist to shortlist appraisal process with cost-benefit analysis to support identification of a preferred option;
- Expanding the Commercial Case to develop the procurement and delivery strategy for the project;
- Developing the financial model and affordability assessment to support the Finance Case;
- Developing the Management Case to set out the stakeholder engagement plan, benefits realisation plan and arrangements for monitoring and evaluation.
We worked closely with NFTS to develop and iterate project proposals and contents of the Business Case prior to submission and then also in responding to initial comments received from DCMS on review of a draft of the Business Case.
Key Outcomes
The Business Case was developed to meet HMT Green Book standards and requirements in order to be considered for the release of funding. In June 2025, The Department for Culture, Media & Sport confirmed its backing for the campus extension, alongside a dozen industry partners that pledged match-funding for the project – a major milestone for the School. You can find the press release here.
We recently had the pleasure of working with 31ten on a critical Business Case for our strategic expansion project, utilising their expertise and experience in preparing HMT Green Book compliant Business Cases to help us secure funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Skills (DCMS). The 31ten team worked closely with us to strengthen and finalise our proposals and their approach with professional, thorough and strategic throughout. Their recommendations were practical and actionable and delivered on time, even under tight deadlines. Thanks to the 31ten, we now have a robust and compelling business case that has secured the essential funding we needed to move forward with our project.
Dr Jon Wardle
Director – National Film and Television School
